Northfarthing Rain
by LeftOfWest
Summary: Pippin gets the bright idea to go adventuring. A little rain in the Northfarthing is only the beginning. Prequest. Warning: Slash. Frodo & Sam and Merry & Pippin.
1. Pippin's Adventure

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Pairing(s): Merry/Pippin and Frodo/Sam (In other words, male/male. If you do not like that kind of thing, please do not read this story.)

Chapter Summary: Pippin gets the bright idea to go adventuring.

Disclaimer: I'm not Tolkien, nor do I claim to be a Tolkien scholar. Just a small fan hoping to entertain others whilst I entertain myself.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: The title of this fic is a play on R.E.M.'s song title "So. Central Rain." Just used it for inspiration for the title really. That's all. Now, the more you review, the better chance you'll have of either 1) getting me to stop disgracing the face of slashdom AND Tolkiendom or 2) continuing on in the world of fanfiction. It's all up to the people who review. As for the people who don't review, well, they LITERALLY have no say in the matter.

Chapter 1: Pippin's Adventure

"You know what I'd really like to do?" Pippin said to Merry as he shoved a mushroom into his mouth. The two were having an extended visit with Frodo at Bag End, and according to Pippin, 'Frodo always has his head in the books and never spends any time with us'.

But the fact of the matter was that Frodo was always spending time with them while they were staying with him and rarely had any time at all to just sit and read. So Master Baggins sent both of his younger cousins off on a picnic with what Frodo was sure was 'more food than they could possibly eat', hoping it would keep them out of trouble (and out of his hair) at least for a little while…

…hence, their current location, sitting atop Bag End with a basket that was formerly full of food. Now, that food was all gone except for a few leftover mushrooms. So much for having 'more food than they could possibly eat'.

"It already sounds like trouble, but I'll ask anyway. What WOULD you like to do?" Merry asked, popping a mushroom into his own mouth.

Pippin ignored Merry's obvious apprehension about asking the question. Not that he'd really noticed it anyway. "I'd like to go on an adventure."

"'I'd like to go on an adventure'," Merry repeated. "Well, that's a Took for you. Never happy just enjoying mushrooms in the sun."

"Oh. Well, I guess a troublemaking Brandybuck wouldn't be interested in the really great adventure I had in mind." Pippin popped another mushroom into his mouth and chewed it slowly, absently studying his fingernails (or at least pretending to).

Merry looked at Pippin for a long time. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Oh, you're not interested," Pippin sighed, still putting on his act.

Merry looked at him for another long while, then crawled over and tackled him to the ground, his legs astride the younger hobbit's hips.

Pippin almost choked on the mushroom he was still chewing. "What are you trying to do? Kill me?" he asked, giggling.

"I WILL kill you if you don't tell me what your little Tookish brain is scheming," Merry laughed, still pinning his cousin to the ground.

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you," Pippin said, still giggling. "I'll tell you if you get off me! Your weight is unbearable!"

"Hmph. You're just jealous because I'm developing a proper hobbit belly and you've still got a baby belly." He put his hand on Pippin's tummy and with a look of surprise he said, "Peregrin Took! What is that?"

"That's a hobbit belly," Pippin told him with a grin.

"It's only a little one, but I guess it IS coming along. I want to see it." Merry started pulling up Pippin's shirt.

But the younger hobbit fought to keep his shirt down. "Noooo. I thought you wanted to hear about my adventure."

"Yes, yes. In a minute. Right now I want to see the competition," Merry said. He tickled at Pippin's neck until he coerced a fit of laughter from the hobbit underneath him.

"Merry, stop it," Pippin giggled, trying to shoo his cousin's hands away from his neck and when next he knew it, his shirt was being pulled up.

"Look at that," Merry said, referring to Pippin's barely pudged tummy. "Looks just like mine. When did this happen? Was I not paying attention this whole time...? I've been around the whole time, haven't I?"

Pippin struggled to crawl from underneath Merry, stood and pulled his shirt back down. "Are you going to listen to what I have to say or are you going to keep violating me?"

Merry raised his eyebrows. "VIOLATING you?"

"Violating my PRIVACY," Pippin corrected, blood rushing to his cheeks.

The elder hobbit got to his feet. "Violating your privacy indeed," he muttered. "Alright, Pip. I'm ready to hear all about your adventure." He started putting away their picnic paraphernalia with a little help from Pippin.

"Well, it won't be a short adventure and I'd understand if you didn't want to go with me," Pippin said.

"You know I'm not going to let you go alone. Especially if it's a long adventure," Merry told him.

Pippin smiled. "Let me tell you first before you go agreeing to it." Helping Merry fold their picnic blanket, he went on. "I want to visit the Northfarthing. Where the great Bandobras Took fought in the Battle of Greenfields. And I want to visit the North-Tooks and hear his story straight from them."

"You want to go to Long Cleeve?" Merry asked. Once the blanket was folded, he held it in his arms. "That's a long way to go for a story. You can hear about that right here in Hobbiton. As a matter of fact, I'm sure Bilbo left records of that battle somewhere in Bag End. We can ask Frodo about them."

Pippin's smile disappeared and he lowered his head. "Well, it's just that I haven't been to the Northfarthing in a long time and..."

Merry looked at Pippin out of the corner of his eye. "And?"

The younger hobbit blushed and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. "And there was this young lass there."

A pang of something unidentifiable swept over Merry. 'Probably just indigestion,' he thought, and he grinned anyway. "A lass?"

Pippin picked up their picnic basket and nodded. "You'd swear she was an angel. She's got the most beautiful dark golden, well, almost auburn hair you've ever seen. And...and her eyes are..." He looked at his feet. "Her eyes are just like..., well, blue. Not creepy blue like Frodo's. Just NICE blue." He looked back at Merry. "She was very young when I visited there, but she's bound to be a beautiful hobbit-lass in her tweens by now. You have to see her, Merry."

"So, you're adventuring to meet up with this beautiful lass from long ago?" Merry asked.

"No, I want to hear the story," Pippin told him. "I just thought I might catch a glimpse of her while I'm there. Just to see how things turned out for her."

"No worries, Pip. We'll go off and find your lass and your story."

Pippin blushed again. "She's not MY lass. She's probably got at least a hundred callers by now."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Merry said. "We should set out as soon as possible."

-inside...

"Hullo, Frodo," Merry greeted once he entered Bag End.

"Hullo, Frodo," Pippin repeated, walking past Merry to the next room. He set the empty basket on the kitchen counter and started rummaging around for a cake he remembered seeing before he and Merry went on their picnic.

"I thought you two were actually LEAVING the premises for your picnic, not going up on the roof," Frodo said with his nose still buried in his book.

"What makes you think we were on the roof?" Merry asked with a chuckle, tossing the picnic blanket on a nearby chair.

Frodo chuckled a bit as well. "I could hear you two up there. You were making such a racket that I had to leave the study. Or did you not notice that this isn't the study?"

"I always did get the study and the sitting room mixed up," Merry murmured sarcastically. He plopped down on the sofa next to Frodo. "Cousin, I have a favor to ask," he sang sweetly.

Mr. Baggins groaned and leaned his head onto the back sofa, letting his book drop to his lap. "What? What is it, Merry? Because it already sounds like trouble."

"Actually, WE have a favor to ask," Merry said, ignoring Frodo's comment. He figured it would be best if Pippin told Frodo what he had planned, but when he looked around, he didn't see their younger cousin. "Pip?"

"Hm?" Pippin asked, sticking his head out of the kitchen.

Frodo didn't move; he just groaned more dramatically.

"Come here. This was your idea," Merry said.

"What was my idea?" Pippin asked, walking back into the sitting room with the other two hobbits, sans cake.

"Your adventure, remember?" Merry said to Pippin. He turned to Frodo and sighed. "It's a wonder he can keep anything between his ears."

Frodo sat up and nodded, sympathetic to Merry's situation with Pippin. They all had a hard time getting Pippin to remember things sometimes.

Pippin raised his eyebrows. "Oh, it's nothing really."

Merry shook his head at Pippin, then turned to Frodo with a grin. "Pip's got a lass over in Long Cleeve. He wants to go visit her."

The young Took shoved Merry playfully. "She's not my lass and that's not why I'm going there." Pippin moved Merry aside, sat between his two older cousins and attempted to correct the details of the adventure he had in mind. "I was saying to Merry that I thought it would be interesting to learn more about Bandobras the Bullroarer-"

"I told him that Bilbo surely had some records of the old Battle of Greenfields," Merry interrupted.

Pippin looked at the Brandybuck. "You wanted ME to tell him, Merry." With a small smile, he turned back to Frodo. "I wanted to hear the stories from the North-Tooks themselves-"

"Not to mention that there's a pretty lass living in Long Cleeve that caught Pip's eye," Merry teased.

The youngest hobbit blushed and turned to Merry again. "That is NOT why I-"

"Well, you brought it up to ME like you're obsessed with her."

"Did not! I was simply saying that I remember her from when I visited Long Cleeve a long time ago."

"That's not what you said when we were outside."

Pippin tried to say something, but he was at a loss for words.

"You should have heard him going on about her. How she was like an angel. How golden and beautiful her hair was and how pretty and blue her eyes were," Merry told Frodo.

As the two younger hobbits argued, poor Frodo had to lean backward and forward to look at each one who spoke. It began making him a little dizzy, so he decided to look straight ahead instead. "Peregrin Took, I do believe you have a crush."

Pippin's face reddened. "I do not have a crush on her. I haven't seen her in years and she was really young then. Much younger than I was. I just...admired her look, is all."

Merry giggled. "Sounds like a crush to me."

A slow smile crept up on Frodo's face. "Well, what was the favor you wanted to ask, then?"

"Ah, yes. The favor," Merry said. "If we are to embark on this journey, we'll need provisions. That's where you come in, Cousin Frodo."

Frodo shook his head, still smiling. "I should have known. If I didn't know any better I'd think that you two only come here to eat me out of hearth and home."

It was Pippin's turn to giggle now, but as soon as he was about to comment, there came a loud crash from the next room. All of their attention turned toward the entrance to the kitchen.

"Sam! Are you alright in there?" Frodo called.

"Yes sir, Mr. Frodo, begging your pardon for all the clamor!" Sam answered. "I thought you, Mr. Merry and Mr. Pippin'd like some tea!"

"Oh, thank you, Sam! I hadn't thought of that!" Frodo said.

Pippin raised his eyebrows once again. "I didn't even know Sam was here."

Frodo shook his head and smiled. "I tried to give him the day off, but he insisted on organizing the garden shed instead."

Merry raised an eyebrow. "Well, Sam moves about rather stealthily for one so brawny. Aside from the clattering just now, that is. We didn't even see him come over."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Sam snuck up on you while you were sleeping just to tuck you in at night," Pippin said to Frodo.

It had been an innocent comment, but it caused Frodo's cheeks to color slightly. "I can always count on good old Sam," he seemed to say out of nowhere. He closed his eyes and shook his head to help clear it. "I'm sorry; you were saying something about provisions?"

Merry gave a nod.

"You shouldn't need much. There are villages along the way. You can always replenish your supplies if you have to," Frodo told them.

Pippin looked like he was out in left field-a common look for the young Took. His brain was trying to work through something, though he wasn't even sure what that something might be.

"Of course," Merry said. He sighed. "Then what we'll need more than provisions is some spending money." He gave his most prize-winning smile.

"Meriadoc Brandybuck, you're the Master of Buckland's heir. You CANNOT tell me that you're broke," Frodo laughed.

"Broke as Pervinca Took at the Summer Harvest Festival," Merry muttered with a wink.

Frodo laughed even louder.

It took a moment for Pippin to get the joke, but after a while his mouth dropped open. "Hey! You can't go around saying stuff like that about my sister!"

"I was only kidding, Pip," Merry assured him, tousling the younger hobbit's hair.

The eldest of them put his hand over his own mouth to help himself calm down.

"Very funny," Pippin said, not very amused at all. "I never should've invited you to the Northfarthing with me."

"The Northfarthing?" Sam asked, bringing in their tea. He began serving the three gentlehobbits. "What's in the Northfarthing?"

Pippin was about to explain his case, but Merry interrupted him. "Pippin's lass lives in Long Cleeve."

Frodo giggled.

"She's not my lass and that's not why we're going there," Pippin said. As soon as he saw Merry open his mouth again, Pippin quickly covered it with his hand. "I'm in the mood for adventure and I wanted to hear the story of old Bullroarer straight from the North-Tooks."

Sam smiled. "Wow. It sounds like a right nice adventure, and no mistake. Wish I could go along with you."

Frodo raised his eyebrows.

"I don't see why you couldn't," Pippin said, still covering Merry's mouth.

Surprisingly, Merry sat calmly, allowing Pippin to believe he'd gotten the better of him.

"Well, I've got a lot of work to do here and-" Sam started.

"Would you really like to go, Sam?" Frodo asked quietly.

"Course I would. You know how much I like a good story, Mr. Frodo," Sam told him.

Frodo smiled. "Then you should go with them."

Pippin grinned and nodded. "It'll be great having you with us, Sam."

Sam looked surprised. "Well, I said I'd LIKE to go, but I can't just leave Mr. Frodo here with no one to take care of him."

There was a sudden silence and everyone looked at Frodo.

"What? I can take care of myself, you know," Frodo told them.

Sam chuckled. "Says you. My Gaffer said to me, 'Samwise, my lad, you're gonna have to look after that Mr. Frodo Baggins. If someone's not around to make sure he takes in all his meals proper, he'd likely forget to feed himself.' That's what he said to me. And I said, 'A hobbit that doesn't feed himself proper. Imagine that!'"

Pippin giggled.

Frodo shook his head, an embarrassed smile on his face. "Your Gaffer was over-exaggerating."

Merry licked the hand Pippin still had over his mouth.

Pippin gasped and yanked his hand away. "Ugh! Merry licked me!" He wiped his hand on the side of Merry's trousers.

It was Frodo and Sam's turn to giggle this time.

Merry chuckled at Pippin, and then looked at Sam. "Well, if you're worried about Frodo's eating habits, maybe you'd feel better if he came along too." He then turned to Frodo and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, a foursome! Please say yes, Frodo," Pippin pleaded enthusiastically.

Sam gave Frodo a hopeful look.

Frodo looked at his friends and smiled. "When do we start?"

-later...

"Now, Sam. Are you sure your Gaffer won't mind that you're leaving for a few days?" Frodo asked Sam as they were loading up their backpacks.

Sam sighed. "Well, he was a little disappointed that I was leaving my gardening duties behind for so long, but he was more concerned about your well-being than anything else." He leaned close to Frodo and whispered, "I kinda told him that it was your idea to take this trip and I agreed to go along with you."

Frodo grinned. "You told a fib," he said slowly.

Sam lowered his head. "I did. I told a fib, sir. I'm awful sorry."

Mr. Baggins chuckled quietly and put an arm around Sam's shoulders. "It was only a tiny fib. No harm done." He let Sam go and hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders. "Now, all I have to do is grab a map from the study and then we can go to the sitting room and wait for that Took and that Brandybuck."

Sam smiled to himself as he followed his master out of the room.

-not far away...

"I can't believe I let you two talk me into this. I'm a Baggins. I'm not supposed to have any adventures or do anything unexpected, like leave the Westfarthing with no notice at all," Frodo complained once he and Sam found Pippin and Merry. But he had to admit, he was looking forward to this little trip no matter how unexpected it was.

"You may be a Baggins, but you've got Brandybuck blood in you too," Merry said. "And if Pippin wouldn't have thought up this crazy scheme-"

"Hey!" Pippin objected.

"-then you probably would have," Merry went on, ignoring his younger cousin. "You like going places and doing things, though you would've most likely gone alone without ever mentioning it to anyone."

"Yes, well, I also like the quiet and comfort of home from time to time. And I never go very far." Frodo told him. "Now get out of here before I change my mind."

Sam just smiled to himself as the foursome headed out of Bag End, lead by Merry and followed by Pippin, Frodo and Sam respectively.

"I hate to ask this on my own adventure, but where exactly are we going?" Pippin asked.

"You're the one who wanted to do this and you're not prepared?" Merry questioned, putting his hands on his hips. "Peregrin, Peregrin. When will you ever learn not to be so impulsive?"

Pippin frowned and they all stopped at the Bag End gate. "You were the one who said to leave as soon as possible. Besides, I assumed that Frodo would know the way or something."

"You didn't even know Frodo would be joining us. Besides, I assumed that you would know the way since you've been there before," Merry told the Took.

"My memory's a bit foggy," Pippin stated.

Merry grinned at him. "Your whole head's a bit foggy."

"Well, YOU try to remember the directions to a place you haven't been to in..." Pippin looked up at the sky, then started counting on his fingers and mumbling to himself. "...ten, eleven, twelve..." He looked back at Merry. "Thirteen years."

"You may not remember the directions, but you sure did remember that lass well enough," Merry said, rolling his eyes.

Sam watched the two cousin's bicker and then leaned close to Frodo. "They cluck at each other like a couple of hens, if you don't mind me saying so, sir," he muttered.

Frodo turned to Sam and nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking," he whispered, taking Sam's hand as he chuckled under his breath.

Sam laughed quietly as well, and then looked down at Frodo's hand in his.

"-dropped pudding down the back of Mrs. Burrows' dress," Pippin was saying. (The gods only knew how they came to this subject.) "And blamed it on me."

"And I can't believe you haven't forgiven me for that. It was, like, five years ago," Merry said.

"Merry, Pippin, please," Frodo said between giggle fits. He finally let go of Sam's hand and took a deep breath to steady himself. "I have a map. You probably wouldn't have brought me along if I didn't."

"Oh...," Pippin said. "Well, where to first?"

Frodo took off his backpack and pulled out Bilbo's map of The Shire. "Here we are. Let's see now." He studied the map for a while, trying to decide which direction would be best to go. "We'll head to Bywater first and then follow The Water north until we reach the Northfarthing Stone. That seems simple enough." He folded the map and put it back in his backpack.

Merry nodded. "And here I thought you would prefer to take us along the roads until we got to where we were going. You have adventurer written all over you, Frodo."

"I thought that since this is Pippin's adventure that we should take a Pippinish route," Frodo said with a smile.

"Well, that's a happy little coincidence, going the Bywater way," Pippin said with a wink to Merry.

Merry nodded to Pippin, then looked at Sam and gave a grin.

Sam raised his eyebrows, and then looked at Frodo with pleading eyes.

Frodo laughed at all of them. "Fine. The Green Dragon it is."

The other three hobbits cheered.

End Chapter 1

a/n: This is my first story, so reviews are everything to me. ;) Facts may be a little off and language is definitely off, but considering the disclaimer, I think that would be understandable... If you liked it, let me know and I'll gladly continue. If you didn't like it, let me know and I'll see what I can do to make it better.


	2. Here a Beer, There a Beer

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: The hobbits spend the night at the Green Dragon Inn.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: Okay. So I got no feedback for the first chapter. I'm still writing, though. I haven't given up yet. Please enjoy this rather stupid chapter (if there's anybody out there reading this at all).

Chapter 2: Here a Beer, There a Beer

It never did take very long to get from Bag End's front gate to the Green Dragon Inn, even when traveling off-road. But for some reason, today Merry and Pippin thought it would be fun to go for a quick swim in the Water.

"Come on in, Frodo, Sam. The water's quite nice," a nude Pippin called to his friends before he completely submerged.

Merry was swimming not far from Pippin, enjoying the feel of the cool water on his skin. It was a warm day, but the weather would be cool by nightfall.

"Oh, no, Mr. Pippin," Sam said. "Last summer when you and Mr. Merry tried to teach me to swim, you nearly drowned me. I won't have a scare like that again, thank you very much."

Frodo giggled.

"It wasn't our fault that you lost your composure when you went under," Merry defended.

Pippin began splashing around in a panic and let out a terrified yelp before sinking.

Merry looked at his younger cousin and laughed. "Right. Just like that."

The smile on Frodo's face vanished as he watched the youngest of them flail his arms about frantically. "I don't think he's imitating Sam."

"I knew it! Even people who know how to swim can drown! This is horrible!" Sam shouted. He grabbed Frodo's arm. "We have to do something!"

In only a matter of seconds, Merry had stopped laughing and was dragging his sputtering and obviously frightened little cousin out of the river. The Took coughed up water and clung mercilessly to Merry.

"What in the Shire is the matter with you?" Merry asked.

Frodo breathed a sigh of relief and gave Sam's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Th-there's something in the water!" Pippin told them, trying to scamper away.

Merry frowned and grabbed their clothes. With a sigh he said, "Yes, Pippin. Fish live there. You nearly drowned yourself because of a fish?"

"That's no fish, I tell you! That thing's LURKING under there," Pippin declared. "It's a monster! Some foul water beast from the days of old come to reclaim the Shire!"

Sam didn't dare go near the water. Frodo, however, found the idea of a mysterious creature in the water fascinating and went to have a look at this thing that Pippin swore was a monster. The eldest hobbit laughed when out crawled a small turtle. "Here's your monster, Pippin."

"Looks like you've been listening to one too many of those strange tales you like so much," Merry pointed out.

And everyone had a laugh on poor Pippin's account.

-soon...

Once they got to the Green Dragon, however, everyone started having a laugh on poor Sam's account, with the help of a little ale. Okay, more than a LITTLE ale.

"Oh, Sam. If you like her, you should go over and talk to her," Merry suggested.

Pippin giggled, glad that he was no longer the center of attention when it came to lasses. But he wasn't about to say anything that would draw attention back to him in that area. He just gulped from his mug and chuckled to himself.

Frodo laughed, but he also felt a bit awkward. He always knew that Sam fancied Rosie, but he didn't think about what it would do to their friendship if Sam ended up courting her. Was he being selfish to want to keep his friend all to himself? 'Am I jealous of Rosie?' Frodo thought. That made him laugh louder than he would have liked.

All eyes were on the Baggins now.

"Are you alright, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked.

Frodo colored and looked into his mug. "I'm fine. I think the ale's going to my head is all."

"Already? You should think about cutting back on the ale, then. I'll take your share," Pippin said. He probably should have kept his mouth shut. He still surprisingly wasn't ready to draw attention to himself, but the ale was making his tongue a bit looser than he'd intended.

Frodo grinned a little, shook his head and kept staring into his mug.

Merry shook his head. "Great. I'm with two lovesick fools-"

"Lovesick?" both Pippin and Sam said. (Neither of them seemed to object to the 'fools' part.)

"-and one drunken fool," Merry went on with a grin. He couldn't really say that because they were all well on their way to being drunken fools.

Frodo frowned at the Brandybuck.

"It seems I'm the only one here who's thinking straight," Merry continued. "Yet one of you, Sam, won't listen to me when I tell you to go over and talk to that lass."

"There's a couple of differences between you going up and talking to a lass and me doing it," Sam said to Merry. "First of all, you're the future Master of Buckland and I'm a gardener."

Merry rolled his eyes.

Pippin and Frodo only looked at Mr. Gamgee.

"And second of all, I ain't much to look at," Sam went on.

Frodo looked as though he might say something, but he looked away instead.

"Excuses, excuses," Merry said before he even thought about what Sam had said.

"What do you mean; you're not 'much to look at'?" Pippin asked Sam. "I happen to think you're handsome."

The other three hobbits looked at Pippin.

"You do?" Sam asked.

"Of course I do. And you're as sturdy as an ox. You'll make a fine husband," Pippin said happily.

Sam blushed at the compliment. "Why, thank you, Mr. Pippin."

"And besides, whoever you end up marrying won't have to cook all the time," Frodo added quietly, just so he wouldn't seem as though he didn't agree with the whole idea.

Sam fingered his mug and glanced up at Frodo for only a moment before returning to studying the mug again.

Merry nodded sloppily, the beer taking even more effect. "That's true too. Handsome, sturdy, good cook. It's perfect. Why, I'll bet if Frodo could marry a lad, you'd be the first on his list."

Sam's blush deepened and he stared at his mug intently.

Frodo was obviously flustered as he stammered, "Wh-whatever would make you say such a-a thing, Merry?"

"I don't know. Just saying... I mean, you seem perfectly happy just having him around and I don't think I've seen you even dance with a lass since you danced with Pearl at the Winter Ball about six or so YEARS ago," Merry answered. "And that hardly counts, seeing as she's your cousin."

Frodo was too flabbergasted to look dignified. "Meriadoc. What I do at parties is none of your concern. When was the last time you had YOUR arms around a lass?"

Merry was about to speak, but Pippin broke in. "Oh, he always dances with ALL the lasses at the parties he goes to."

Merry smiled and nodded unsteadily.

"Oh, you're just a big flirt," Frodo said, his tongue, too, was loosened by the alcohol.

"And you're a 47-year-old bachelor-" Merry began.

"A HANDSOME 47-year-old bachelor," Pippin corrected, his head seeming to swim as he smiled at his friends.

"Thank you, Pippin," Frodo said almost too quickly, as though he knew that Pippin would give him the compliment.

"No, thank YOU, Frodo. It makes you a lot easier to look at," Pippin reasoned with a giggle.

Merry looked at Pippin strangely. 'That little Took sure is making a habit of calling everyone handsome,' he thought and then hoped he hadn't said it out loud by mistake. After waiting a few seconds for a response, he assumed that he had indeed thought that particular comment. "Yes." He looked back at Frodo. "A handsome 47-year-old bachelor who won't dance with lasses at parties."

"He's danced with a few since then," Sam interjected a little late.

Everyone's attention fell on Sam once again.

"Well, I have to keep my eye on him, like my Gaffer said," the gardener defended.

"So you and Pippin are the wallflowers of the group," Frodo said.

Sam gave a shy nod.

"Well, Pippin usually dances with a lass or two at parties," Merry corrected.

Pippin looked at Merry out of the corner of his eye. "I always thought you were too busy to notice."

"It's hard not to notice you, Pip," Merry said.

All eyes were now on Merry and the Brandybuck realized that he hadn't thought that last statement. He'd actually said it out loud.

"That is, seeing how he's always getting himself into trouble. It's my job to keep an eye on him, you know," Merry explained. "Being his older cousin and all. He doesn't have an older brother to look after him and his older sisters won't. I'm the only one who will." He nodded affirmatively. Was there really any need for that much explanation? Was he making himself look guilty by over-explaining the situation? If so, guilty of what?

Pippin smiled. He meant to say 'Thank you, Merry', but he'd only mouthed the words.

Frodo giggled lazily. "I know what this is about."

Merry blushed and started drinking from his mug to hide the coloring of his face.

Frodo sighed and leaned his head on Sam's shoulder. "Someone wants to be like you, Samwise."

Sam, who had been drinking and minding his own business, looked confused. "Like me, sir?"

Pippin nodded. "I guess that's true. Because you take such good care of Frodo. Now Merry wants someone to take care of." He put his hand on Merry's shoulder. "And he doesn't have any siblings, the poor thing."

Frodo was fast asleep.

Merry just called for refills on their ales.

"But then again, Frodo's older than you, Sam. So it's a little different than with me and Merry," Pippin said, trying to make sense of it all.

"Well, you two are like a couple of brothers. He's got to look after you. And you've got to look after him, though you two just mainly get each other into trouble. As for me and Mr. Frodo, there's certain things that Mr. Frodo doesn't always think of. Especially when he's got his head in those books of his," Sam explained. "And that's what I'm there for."

"Exactly," Pippin said, not really knowing what he was agreeing with. Sam's explanation had flown right over his head. He picked up his new mug of ale and giggled. "I'd like to make a..." The poor thing suffered from a temporary brain malfunction.

"Toast," Merry suggested, giving them his attention once more.

"A toast," Pippin went on. "To Frodo and Sam. Thank goodness they found each other. And to Merry and me. Thank goodness we're related or he would have left me high and dry a long time ago." He chuckled at his own little joke, which nobody else understood. It's doubtful that Pippin even understood.

Everyone started drinking, except Frodo. When Sam looked over and saw that his master was asleep, he smiled, and then looked at Merry and Pippin. "I should take him to bed. You two just come on in whenever you're ready. Considering all the ale, I doubt either of us will hear you."

Pippin nodded to Sam as the gardener hobbit supported the now half-dozing hobbit while heading toward their room.

Merry smiled. "Sam's a really great fellow. He doesn't give himself enough credit."

Pippin was leaning over his mug, lapping at the contents like a thirsty dog.

Merry just stared at the young Took, watching his tongue dart in and out of his mouth...

"A fine hobbit, he is," Pippin said, referring to Sam. "Sweet, strong, handsome, good cook. Maybe I should talk to Rosie for him."

"Not YOU," Merry told him.

"Why not?"

"You'll make a mess of things."

Pippin frowned. "Would n-"

"This one's not up for discussion. You're drunk, Pip," Merry said quickly.

"I am NOT drunk," Pippin informed his cousin.

"You're not? Then why's your face so red? And why were you saying that Frodo and Sam were handsome all night?"

"Well, I'm a little drunk, but I said they were handsome because they are... What? You don't think so?"

Merry nodded and looked back at his mug.

"What's wrong?"

Merry shook his head. "I'm tired."

"You're tired, Merry?" Pippin asked.

"Yes. That's what I said, isn't it?" Merry told him.

"Well, let's go to bed," Pippin suggested plainly.

"I don't feel like it yet," Merry said.

"But you just said that you were tired," the confused Took pointed out.

Merry sighed and played at his mug.

Pippin laid his head on the table to study his cousin and the two remained silent for a while.

-meanwhile...

Frodo giggled as Sam opened the door to the room he and his three friends would share. Considering he was only half awake and not very sober, he wasn't altogether there. He smiled. "I know there are, um, FOUR beds, but why don't you and I just share one?" He tried to look at Sam, though his eyes were still closed.

"Share a bed, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked nervously, still supporting his master. They'd never shared a bed before-had no reason to really. He'd never even spent the night at Bag End. Why would they want to share a bed?

"Yes, dear Samwise. Share a bed. Haven't you ever shared a bed with anyone?" Frodo questioned. He reached his other arm around the young Gamgee and leaned against him rather carelessly, nearly sliding to the floor.

A blush was evident on Sam's face when he put his arms around Frodo to keep his master from falling. "What?"

Frodo slowly regained his footing, but kept his arms around Sam. When he finally opened his eyes, his face was only about an inch away from Sam's. He smiled even wider and repeated, "Haven't you ever shared a bed with anyone?" His cheeks too started to color when he realized the question he'd asked. "I mean, you have lots of siblings. Surely there weren't enough beds for all of you," he added slowly and quietly.

"Oh... Well, yes sir. I've shared a bed with family, but-" Sam began.

The master of Bag End slowly walked two of his fingers up the back of Sam's neck, then through his hair and finally over to his ear where he simply began stroking it from point to lobe. He smiled when he felt Sam shudder slightly. "Then share a bed with me," he whispered, his face inching ever so close to Sam's.

Sam knew that this wasn't the way his master usually acted. The beer was doing strange things to him. They'd all had more than enough to drink, though Sam's mind was obviously not nearly as clouded as Frodo's.

"Please don't say no, Sam. I don't think that I could bear it," Frodo said quietly. He planted a feather-light kiss right below Sam's lower lip. He'd planned on kissing him directly on the lips, but the room seemed to be moving them around just enough to keep him from his objective.

The feeling of his master's lips on his skin caused Sam to gasp softly. Frodo's half-lidded eyes and the small smile that appeared upon those lips reminded him that he could deny his master nothing. "I...I won't say no to you, Mr. Frodo."

"I'm so glad, Sam."

But Sam found himself quite confused. On the one hand, he had feelings for Rosie, yet on the other hand, he was now discovering feelings that could only be explained if he'd secretly had them for a long time. Of course, he loved his master. Everyone knew that. But now he wasn't so sure how far that love went.

"Well, don't just stand there like a knot on a log," Frodo giggled. "Come to bed with me." Taking Sam's hand, he led his gardener to the bed he wanted them to share.

-back in the pub...

"I know what it is," Pippin said suddenly, with his head still on the table.

Merry looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"You want another drink," Pippin deduced. He smiled, quite proud of himself for supposedly figuring out what was wrong with his dear cousin.

Merry looked in his mug, then at Pippin. "Sure. Why not," he muttered. He didn't care about drinking. He'd had enough to drink. He was just feeling melancholy all of a sudden.

Pippin called for refills on their ales, then smiled at Merry. "Come on. Cheer up. This is an adventure, not a funeral march."

"You're right, Pippin," Merry said. A small smile graced his face. He wanted his little cousin to have a good time, even though he was going all this way to find a lass he'd met a long time ago. The Brandybuck still wasn't sure why that bothered him. Maybe he'd become too protective of the younger hobbit and didn't want his heart to be broken if he went all this way and found that this lass was already involved with someone else.

"There. That's the Merry I like to see," Pippin told him. He hadn't noticed that Merry's smile had started to disappear. "You're so much more handsome when you have a smile on your face."

Merry smiled again, glad that Pippin hadn't excluded him from the group of handsome hobbits. He was about to say something when he noticed that Pippin was now staring at him. "What?"

Pippin looked away and shook his head, grabbing his beer once it had been refilled.

Merry could swear that Pippin was blushing, but then again, he was so flushed from the alcohol already that it was hard to tell. They had all been a bit flushed that night. He watched Pippin chug his ale and laughed when a little of it dribbled down his younger cousin's chin.

The young Took wiped at his face with his coat sleeve. "Ah! Now that was refreshing." He looked at Merry's mug. "You're not drinking."

"I think I'd rather go for a walk instead," Merry told him, slowly standing.

"A walk?" Pippin asked. He was obviously having a hard time comprehending things at the moment. "Is it just me, or is it dark outside?"

"It's not just you. You should go on to bed if you're tired. I'll see you in a little bit," Merry said.

Pippin looked confused. "But you were the one who said you were tired."

Something inside Merry's mind recalled the comment without his putting forth an effort. He smiled. "I did, didn't I? Well, I feel like walking. I'll see you later."

"I'm coming with you." The young Took hopped to his feet and suddenly he found himself sitting on the floor with a sore bottom. Apparently he'd lost his footing.

Merry laughed. "I don't think you CAN walk, Pip." He extended a hand to help his cousin up off the floor.

"I CAN walk. Stop laughing. It's not funny," Pippin said. He took Merry's hand, got back on his feet and steadied himself. "See? I can walk. Come on." He let go of Merry's hand and went bouncing toward the exit.

"You're too cute," Merry found himself saying. He hadn't meant to say it out loud, but thank goodness his cousin wasn't close enough to hear him say it.

-in the room...

Frodo frowned when he saw that Sam wasn't moving to lie down. "Listen, Samwise. I know you like Rose. Rosie with the full lips and full hips and those huge milkers she's got up top-"

Sam couldn't believe Frodo was talking like this. As a matter of fact, his mouth was hanging open in surprise as his master spoke of Ms. Cotton. He was too speechless to comment and he stood once again.

"-but in all fairness, I think you liked me first," Frodo went on with a coy, yet somehow seductive smile. Or was it the shyness of that smile which made it seem seductive?

Even more surprise washed over Sam, not only because of the accusation (which happened to be true), but because of the look his master was giving him. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"Come now, Sam. I know you're a very dedicated lad when it comes to your work-everyone knows that-but you've always doted on me like I was your biggest crush," Frodo said plainly, looking quite sleepy. "And don't tell me that it's your job because that's not a part of your job." He patted the bed so Sam would take a seat next to him.

Sam was blushing uncontrollably. 'Has Mr. Frodo been thinking these things the whole time?' he thought. Even though he was very nervous, he took a seat on the bed anyway.

"You probably don't see it this way, but I dote on you too," Frodo said with a slight blush.

Sam gasped, not knowing if his master was serious or if it was just the ale talking. Either way, he couldn't think about that now. After looking at Frodo, Sam realized that Mr. Baggins was leaning in close yet again for another kiss.

End Chapter 2


	3. The Mushroom Ring

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: A ring impossible to resist.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: Wow! Someone had something to say about my story! Hey, thanks! That really made my day!

a/n: Okay, to all you Tolkien lovers, I must apologize. I've crossed the Tolkien mythos with something else. For that I am sorry (but not really because it's still here). And to the fans of what I've crossed it with, I must apologize to you as well. It's not exactly accurate, much like my abuse and misuse of Tolkien. But, 'tis all in good fun, eh? On with the show.

Chapter 3: The Mushroom Ring

Instead of walking beside Merry, Pippin lagged behind a bit, studying the back of his cousin. He wasn't sure if his brain was being influenced by the ale, but he only now realized that the way Merry moved was really fascinating. The bit of swagger and the haphazard swing of his arms were delightful to watch. Then again, that walk was probably the result of one too many ales, much like the thought that crossed his own mind.

Suddenly Merry veered off the path they were walking on and stooped down. Pippin didn't understand what was going on and almost walked on past his cousin. "Are you alright? You're not gonna be sick, are you?" Pippin asked, finally stopping to see what Merry was up to.

"Mushrooms," was Merry's only response.

Of course, Pippin didn't understand that statement either. He remembered that the last things they'd eaten on the road were mushrooms. Maybe Merry was talking about what he was about to sick up. Pippin began feeling queasy just thinking about it.

"These are nice. Come help me, Pip," Merry said.

'Oh! He must have FOUND some mushrooms!' Pippin thought. He grinned, ran over to where Merry had stopped and stooped next to him. When he looked at the mushrooms, he gasped. "Merry, wait!"

"What?"

"These aren't just any mushrooms."

"I know. They're the tastiest mushrooms in the Shire," Merry said with a grin.

"No. That's not what I mean. Look at the way they're growing. It's a faerie ring," Pippin told him.

Indeed the mushrooms had cropped up in a perfect circle.

Merry looked from the ring of mushrooms to Pippin. "What are you talking about? They're just mushrooms. Now help me." As he was about to pluck one from the ground, Pippin grabbed his hand. Merry looked at his cousin and frowned. "What? What is it now?"

"Don't you remember the stories?" Pippin whispered.

"What stories?" Merry asked in his regular speaking voice.

"Shh!" Pippin warned. "The stories about faeries, of course."

Merry vaguely recalled stories he'd heard when he was younger about the little winged people that flew about on the backs of dragonflies and set the fireflies alight. But that was utter nonsense. Hobbits were the littlest people around, weren't they?

"Tiny lads and lasses with wings on their backs dance inside the faerie rings at night," Pippin began in a quiet voice. "They have magical powers and they can't be seen by bigger folk." The young Took smiled as he stared at the circle of mushrooms. "I never would have thought we had magical beings here in the Shire." He leaned close to Merry and lowered his voice even more. "They say that if you disturb a faerie ring, the faeries will put a spell on you."

'Utter lunacy,' Merry thought. "Only children believe those stories, Pip. Besides, I've already started picking them." He held out his untucked shirt to reveal three of the faerie ring mushrooms.

The younger hobbit gasped. "You've already started picking them?" They were both silent for a long moment before Pippin spoke again. "You don't feel cursed or anything?"

"Of course not. Those were just stories that older hobbits tell younger hobbits...," Merry said. He went on picking mushrooms and smiled. "...so that the younger hobbits would be afraid to pick the tastiest mushrooms in the Shire. And so the older lads and lasses could have them all to themselves."

"Oh...," Pippin said. Merry was usually right about this sort of thing. Why WOULDN'T he listen to his very wise friend who had recently come of age? If Merry said that there was nothing to worry about, then there was indeed nothing to worry about. "Those mushrooms do look nice." He began picking them as well.

-the next morning...

This was thankfully one of those leisurely adventures where you didn't have to be in a hurry to get to where you were going. And after the amount of ale these four hobbits had, the day was bound to start later than it normally would have. It was after eleven before the hobbits even began to stir. One too many beers here and there.

Sam was the first to wake and, being one to handle his ale rather well, he had no trouble remembering the details of the night before; though in a way he wished he hadn't. He and Frodo had shared a bed and lots of kisses last night. Would his master remember all those soft sleepy pecks they gave to each other while lying side-by-side? Or was he so drunk that he'd blacked it out? Sam could only lie there and imagine what would happen once his master awoke. Especially since they were STILL sharing the same bed. 'And what would Mr. Merry and Mr. Pippin think?' he asked himself. He should have just changed beds when Frodo had fallen asleep.

The sound of a groan filled the room and Sam soon realized that he should get up and put together an old remedy that would ease their hangovers. He barely realized that he even had a hangover, worrying about Frodo's reaction to their current situation. When he finally thought to get out of bed, he felt Frodo move.

"Ugh, my head," Frodo moaned. He opened his eyes and saw Sam lying next to him. "Sam?"

Sam looked at his master wide-eyed. "Yes, Mr. Frodo?" he asked, for lack of anything better to say. He was already blushing as he thought back to what they were doing for most of the night.

Frodo slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Once he focused on the bed that hadn't been touched, he looked back at his gardener. "Sam?" he asked again, not knowing what else to say.

"Y-yes, Mr. Frodo?" was still all Sam could think of to say as well.

"Do you...remember anything that might have...happened...last night?" Frodo asked, blushing like mad.

"N-no, sir," Sam lied, scrambling out of bed. "I was just thinking of making something for our hangovers, if you don't mind. Seems we all had lots to drink last night."

Frodo looked away. "Yes, it seems that way." He gave Sam a small smile. "Something for our hangovers would be lovely, Sam. Thank you."

Sam returned the smile and then hurried out of the room.

Frodo groaned again and pulled the covers back over his head. Had it not been for the fact that Sam was lying in bed with him when he awoke, he would have just assumed the whole night was a dream. He couldn't believe the way he'd acted last night. Even though he'd had more than enough to drink, he could have had better control over his actions. Remembering the things he'd SAID to Sam caused him to groan yet again, but remembering all the kisses he'd given Sam caused his body to curl up into a little ball. 'Thank goodness he doesn't remember, or I do believe I'd die of embarrassment,' he thought. He had to admit, he enjoyed kissing Sam and having Sam kiss him all night long. But then there were Sam's feelings for Rosie. Why would Sam do that when he obviously had feelings for her? 'He was drunk, you fool,' Frodo thought. 'Any pair of lips on him would have caused him to respond.'

On the other side of the room, Merry was having a hard time remembering how he got back to the inn. The last CLEAR thing he remembered was calling Frodo a 'handsome 47-year-old bachelor who won't dance with lasses at parties', though he vaguely remembered leaving the inn for one reason or another. And then there was something about Pippin, something about his shirt, and something about a ring...

The mushrooms! Merry forgot that he'd taken his shirt off in order to bring back the mushrooms he and Pippin had found. He'd set them between his and Pippin's beds for safe keeping. The future Master of Buckland rolled to the edge of the bed in search of the mushrooms and ended up landing on the floor with a thud.

The remaining hobbits sat up at that.

Frodo could only stare across the room.

"Merry? Are you alright?" Pippin asked sleepily.

Merry groaned at the combined feelings of his hip hitting the floor and a mind-numbing headache. "Of course I'm not alright. I've got a headache the size of the Shire," he grumbled.

Pippin looked at the shirtless Merry for a while. "Where's your shirt?"

Frodo laughed at Merry. "Lost your shirt, have you? You must have been really drunk to lose a whole shirt." He then saw the object in question lying beside his fallen cousin. His eyes lit up when he realized what the shirt was holding. "Mushrooms. And they're beautiful."

"The best in all the Shire," Merry told Frodo proudly.

Pippin looked at the mushrooms as well and memories of last night slowly started coming back to him. After they'd picked the mushrooms, they had to walk all the way back to the Green Dragon in a thick fog that seemed to come out of nowhere... "I don't think we should have picked those mushrooms, Merry."

Merry either ignored or didn't hear Pippin and went about gathering the mushrooms into a pile on his bed so he could put his shirt back on.

Frodo, on the other hand, heard Pippin's response. "Why shouldn't you have picked those mushrooms? They're edible, that's for certain."

The Took was still preoccupied with his memory of last night. He remembered a pony breaking free from its carriage and rushing headlong at him and Merry. The two hobbits were forced off the road, barely in enough time to get out of the way. One of them had mentioned how peculiarly the night was going...

"Pippin?" Frodo asked.

The youngest hobbit looked up at him. "The faeries..."

Silence...

"Oh, Pippin's just worried about some silly little faeries' dancing circle or something like that," Merry informed their elder cousin. "Please tell him that faeries aren't real."

Frodo smiled. "Pippin, I assure you, there's nothing to worry about. Faeries are not real. All those stories from when you were younger really stuck with you, didn't they?"

Pippin frowned and gave a nod. "But..." He recalled crawling through the grass on the side of the road until they got within a few feet of the Green Dragon. The fog had surprisingly gotten thicker and they could barely see where they were going. But they didn't care. They were having too much fun talking about how they would prepare all those big beautiful mushrooms they'd picked...

"But what? There shouldn't be any buts," Merry told him.

"But-" Pippin began.

"What is it?" Frodo asked.

"I'm remembering something," Pippin said slowly. He could remember extending a hand in order to help Merry to his feet, but Merry pulled him down instead. The Brandybuck put his shirt of mushrooms aside and hugged his cousin to him. Pippin, of course, did nothing to resist; in fact, he placed his hands inside Merry's coat and let them rest on his bare chest...

Sam came into the room with a tray containing a big pitcher of steaming liquid and four mugs. "Rosie talked the owner into letting me use the kitchen for a while."

Frodo cringed at the mention of Rosie's name, but thankfully no one seemed to notice.

Pippin, slightly flushed, was too busy trying to bring back to his mind last night's events.

"Ah! That must be a concoction for hangovers. Samwise, you are absolutely brilliant," Merry declared. He looked at the mushrooms, then back at Sam. "Do you think your lass would let you use the kitchen for just a little while longer?" He held up one of the mushrooms and dangled it in the air.

Sam was not only mesmerized by the swinging mushroom, he couldn't believe that even through a hangover Merry was teasing him. Sam's mouth dropped open. "She's not my lass."

"Kitchen?" Merry asked, steadily dangling the mushroom.

Frodo smiled and crawled to the edge of his bed to wait for his hangover brew, making sure to avoid Sam's eyes.

Pippin, on the other hand, had other things on his mind. He had accidentally (or not so accidentally) brushed his lips across one of Merry's eyelids the night before. The Brandybuck had sighed and asked him to do it again. Of course, Pippin didn't know what he was talking about, so Merry had leaned up so he could feel his younger cousin's lips on the bridge of his nose...

Sam looked at the mushroom, then at his friends (or at least at Merry and Pippin, for he wasn't ready to face Frodo yet). "Fine. I'll see what I can do. But first let's see about our hangovers."

Frodo and Merry joined Sam at the tray to retrieve their brew.

"It smells awful," Merry told them. He grabbed the pitcher and started pouring.

"That's how you know it'll work," Frodo said, frowning. "Sam would never make something that smells this terrible unless it DOES work." He glanced up at the Gamgee as he spoke, but when he saw that Sam had also chosen this time to be brave and look at him, Frodo quickly looked down at his steaming mug.

The young Took thought about the night before still. Merry had told him how good it felt to have a pair of lips on his skin after such a long time and that he wanted to show Pippin how it felt. He lifted his head so that his lips could brush lightly against Pippin's chin. The younger hobbit's eyes went wide at the new sensation, but they quickly fluttered shut...

The memory caused Pippin to hug himself and to blush uncontrollably.

"Mr. Pippin? Would you like some remedy?" Sam asked.

From the looks on Merry and Frodo's faces, Pippin definitely didn't WANT any of that stuff.

Sam looked at Pippin closely. "Are you feeling alright? You look flushed."

Pippin looked away. "I'm fine. I just need your fix-it medicine is all." He went over to the steaming pitcher and poured some for himself. The smell alone began to ease his headache somehow. The youngest hobbit quickly began drinking the liquid. The taste was so horrid that he nearly spat it back out. But surprisingly the terrible taste seemed to settle his stomach, which had been turning cartwheels inside him since he'd awoken. He could tell by looking around the room that the brew was having the same effect on the other hobbits.

"This stuff works well. Awful taste, but effective. You could make a lot of money selling this if you wanted, Sam," Merry said.

Sam just smiled and kept drinking.

Frodo began to panic all of a sudden. "This wouldn't happen to bring back memories of drunken moments, would it, Sam?" He stared at his mug, hoping that Sam wouldn't recall all the things he'd said and done last night. 'What would my dear Sam think of me if he found out that I treated him that way?' he pondered.

"No, sir. It's just something for headaches and nausea. And irritability, which is usually caused by the headaches and the nausea," Sam said, making it a point not to look at Frodo while getting to his feet. 'Drunken moments indeed,' Sam thought sadly. "Now, at the request of Mr. Merry, I'm gonna go cook some mushrooms for late elevenses." He hurried out of the room.

Merry, Frodo and Pippin watched Sam leave, then looked at the mushrooms, which still lay on Merry's bed.

Merry grinned. "How long do you think it'll take before he finds out that he NEEDS mushrooms in order to COOK mushrooms?"

Frodo shook his head and smiled to himself.

The young Took pulled out an extra shirt, walked over to Merry's bed and started gathering the mushrooms. "He'll be back before you know it..., unless he forgot what he was going to the kitchen to do."

Sam came back into the room, embarrassment written all over his face.

The youngest hobbit hopped over to the door and handed Sam the shirt that held the mushrooms, giving a smile in the process.

Sam's only response was an embarrassed smile. He took the shirt and hurried out of the room once more.

Pippin quickly lost sight of his objective for the morning-to recall the events of last night-once Frodo pulled out his map. He and Merry had joined their elder cousin on his bed and were figuring out their next course of action.

"Now, the Northfarthing Stone isn't that far away, but we've got a while before we get to the next village," Frodo told them as he traced their route with his index finger. "We have enough food to last until we get to Oatbarton."

"I thought we were going to Greenfields," Pippin said.

"Well, I thought about that, and I assumed it would be better if you heard the stories of Bullroarer BEFORE you actually went to Greenfields," Frodo explained. "We can head to Long Cleeve first and then on our way back we can go along the road to Greenfields."

Merry raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Good thinking, Frodo."

Pippin giggled ecstatically. "I never would have thought of that. I'm so glad we brought you along, Frodo."

"I'm glad too. I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to seeing the Greenfields," Frodo told his little cousin.

"I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to seeing this lass who has you traveling so far just to see her again," Merry said to Pippin.

Frodo chuckled to himself.

Pippin frowned. "Merry, please. I've told you before. The reason-"

Suddenly, Sam returned wheeling a cart that held two huge trays of grilled mushrooms. "Those fellows in the common room sure are in an uproar."

The sight of those gorgeous mushrooms almost made Frodo weak in the knees and the smell was enough to make his mouth water. "Uproar?"

Merry got to his feet and helped Sam finish wheeling the cart into the room.

As soon as the scent hit Pippin's nose, his stomach began to growl.

"Yes, sir. An uproar. They're all going on about how foggy it is, yet it's the middle of the day," Sam told them. "And there's no rain clouds neither. I had to go out and look for myself and sure enough, there was the sun up there in the sky, but that thick fog lurks. Some blamed it on the Bywater Pool, but they say that the fog only seems to be lingering around this little area here. It's the strangest thing."

Despite the approaching mushrooms, Pippin frowned. The statement reminded him that he was supposed to be working on remembering something, yet he couldn't bring to mind exactly what that something was.

Frodo looked confused. "Midday fog. This is no season for midday fog."

"No season's the season for midday fog, if you ask me," Sam said, sure not to make eye contact with Frodo. "Especially with the sun up there. There's got to be some explanation."

Merry, on the other hand, was chuckling to himself. "You're making a big deal about a little fog?" Sticking one of the mushrooms with a fork, he looked from Sam to Frodo to Pippin. "Seriously, you're grown hobbits and you're letting something like unexpected fog worry you. Let's just eat and be on our way, hm?" He took a bite of the mushroom and smiled even wider. "Mm, Sam. I do believe you've outdone yourself. These mushrooms are cooked to perfection."

And with that, their fog discussion was forgotten, including Pippin's attempt to remember whatever it was he was supposed to remember. They all went about eating their late elevenses before Merry had a chance to devour all the mushrooms...

End Chapter 3

a/n: I feel somewhat inspired now. Whether or not any of you liked THIS chapter, I'm not sure. Love it? Hate it? There's only one way I'll know and that's if you review.


	4. Not a Hobbit Walking Party

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: Obstacles present themselves during the journey.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: I see that some other people have read and actually like this story. It's a very nice surprise for me. Thank you for the reviews. I'm glad you like it and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

a/n: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. I was trying to decide if I should go on with the story and then I saw those couple of reviews. I was asked to continue, so I did. But that's enough chat. Time to get back to the story.

Chapter 4: Not a Hobbit Walking-Party

The four hobbits stood outside the Green Dragon staring out into the fog that had gathered. They could only see about five feet in all directions. Even Merry had to comment on how peculiar the situation was.

"No worries. The fellows in the common room said that the fog doesn't go out very far. We'll be out of it in no time," Sam assured them.

The white clouds seemed to envelope them as they carefully made their way toward the Bywater Pool in order to follow the Water northward. The promise was that the fog only lingered around the Green Dragon, yet for some reason it didn't ever seem to end.

After a while they neared the Bywater Pool, though the fog still lingered on, and the group made sure to stay within arm's length as they walked one behind the other. Pippin looked around worriedly and found himself clutching the back of Merry's overcloak.

"Pippin!" Merry hissed, turning and trying to bat his younger cousin's hand away.

Sam and Frodo, who were in the lead, stopped and turned to see what the commotion was. The sudden halt caused Pippin to bump into Merry and Merry to bump into Sam, which made Sam bump into Frodo.

"Pippin!" they all whispered, knowing who'd caused the collision.

Pippin just looked at them apologetically, still clutching Merry's overcloak.

Frodo looked around, then looked at the other hobbits. "Why are we whispering?" he asked quietly.

The gardener shrugged.

"Must be all this fog. Sam, are you sure you heard those fellows right? This fog has been going on forever. We can barely see where we're going," Merry whispered.

"That's what they said, Mr. Merry. They were talking about how strange it was that the fog only lurked about the Green Dragon. I couldn't forget something as strange as that," Sam murmured to Merry.

"Well, they had to be mistaken," Frodo put in silently. "We're well away from the Green Dragon and the fog hasn't even shown the slightest sign of lifting yet."

Sam sighed. "I know. I've been hoping to see where it's at least getting thinner, but that's nowhere in sight neither."

Pippin stood behind Merry, studying the fabric of his cousin's clothes and thinking. He wondered if this fog was in any way connected to the fog he and Merry ran into last night... Of course it was connected to the fog they ran into last night. It was most likely the very same fog, as a matter of fact.

The young Took was about to speak, but Sam interrupted, saying, "The farther we go, the thicker the fog seems to get. I don't like the looks of this one little bit."

Frodo nodded. "Me neither, Sam. Maybe it would be better if we stayed along the road."

"Um," Pippin began.

Merry smiled. "Wait a minute. Now I admit that this is somewhat unsettling, but why should we change our plans? This fog will be gone before you know it. We should just stick to the route we've set out on."

"Okay. A show of hands-" Frodo began.

"Uh," Pippin said. "This is no regular fog."

The other hobbits looked at Pippin strangely.

Pippin looked around, then called the other hobbits to him. Once the others gathered around, he leaned in close and whispered even more quietly than they had been whispering before. "This is faerie fog."

Merry rolled his eyes.

Master Baggins sighed.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Faerie fog?"

The Took gave a nod. "Faerie fog."

"What's faerie fog?" Samwise questioned.

"Please, Pippin. Don't go putting ideas into poor Sam's head," Merry said.

"But...," Pippin started.

"That's enough, Pip," Merry told his younger cousin calmly. He turned to Sam and Frodo. "There's nothing to worry about. Let's be on our way now."

Sam looked quite confused and turned to Frodo.

A reassuring smile came to Frodo's face when he saw Sam look at him. "No worries, dear Sam. Just like Merry said. Let's go."

-later...

But there were worries ahead. Though the group finally made it to the Bywater Pool and headed north along the Water as planned, the fog still persisted. And by the time they'd made it a ways along their path beside the river, what they could see of the sky began growing dark with heavy rain clouds.

"I think I see the Northfarthing Stone just ahead," Frodo told his friends.

As soon as Frodo made that comment, the fog that had surrounded them for so long suddenly lifted. The four hobbits looked around in amazement.

"Oh, thank the stars! We can see again!" Sam rejoiced.

"And it looks like Frodo was right. There's the Northfarthing Stone," Pippin said with a smile. "We've almost made it to the Northfarthing."

While Sam and Pippin were concentrating on the stone, Merry was scanning what lay beyond it. And he hated to admit it, but they probably would have been better off going along the road like Frodo suggested. He moved next to Frodo and pointed ahead.

Frodo frowned at the darkness and gray mist that lay ahead. "Tell me that's not more fog after we've finally left that first one behind." He turned, expecting to see the thick white fog they had been walking through for so long. Instead, what he saw was a clear sunny day with absolutely no sign of fog whatsoever. He nudged Merry to make him turn around.

The Brandybuck did just that. "No way..." Turning back toward the Northfarthing, he almost hoped that he was about to see the same straight ahead, but he was only facing the gloom that was the Northfarthing. "More fog. Well, I suppose it could be worse..."

-soon...

As the four hobbits drew nearer to the Northfarthing Stone they could hear the distinct sound of rain pattering down on grass. There was no way Pippin and Sam could miss that. They stared ahead and saw what could only be described as blankets of rain pouring down before them.

Silently the small group braved the first steps into this soggy territory, and if they thought they couldn't see before, they were really in for some trouble now. Within a breath they were soaked through and through; not even their overcloaks provided protection against the weather.

"This storm is terrible. We never should have come here," Pippin cried over the seemingly oversized droplets.

"We can't even see our own two feet, let alone what's ahead of us," Merry said.

Sam brushed his wet locks out of his eyes. "If there was more trees around, we'd probably be able to see better. Not to mention, we'd keep a little of this rain off us."

"I don't think trees will help in this downpour," Merry sighed.

"No, wait. Sam has a point. If there are a lot of trees, it'll help," Frodo told them. "Bindbale Wood is just west of here, but we'll have to find a swimmable area of The Water to cross." He reached out and grabbed Sam's hand. "Come on. I don't want anyone getting lost. We can't really see well enough to keep up with each other, so I want you two to take each other's hand. That way, if anyone DOES get lost, at least he'll be lost with someone else," he said to Pippin and Merry.

For a moment, Sam couldn't believe that Frodo had taken his hand. Especially after waking up and seeing that they were in the same bed together. He was just sure that Frodo would hate him after that and would never want to speak to him again, let alone hold his hand. And if he would have been able to see past his own nose, he would have seen a smile on his master's face.

Merry groaned. "This is ridiculous." He felt a soft, clammy hand immediately take hold of his. This was, no doubt, Pippin, the hobbit with the coldest hands in the Shire. No matter how cold his own hands were, Pippin's would always be ten times colder. It was true when they were younger, and still was to this day.

After a moment of trudging ahead silently, Sam asked, "Uh, Mr. Frodo? Did you just say that we'll have to cross The Water?"

-onward...

The rain had not only gotten harder as the group of hobbits searched for the best area to cross, it had become colder as well. There was no way they would be able to find a safe section of the river during this downpour, but they had to get across if they wanted at least a little relief from the weather and possibly to see where they were going. Frodo continued to hold Sam's hand, and Pippin Merry's, until they all stopped at the water's edge, curls plastered to their foreheads and necks, drenched clothes clinging mercilessly to their bodies.

"Can you see anything?" Pippin asked as he slightly swung his and Merry's clasped hands. With his free hand, he tried to push his hair out of his eyes, to no avail.

Merry groaned. "No. None of us can see anything, you twit."

The youngest of them frowned. "Then what are we all standing here for? We're already soaked. We may as well jump in and swim on across."

Frodo looked from his cousins to Sam.

"I hate to be so plain, Mr. Frodo, but I ain't going in there," Sam told his master.

"Sam, you're the one who suggested that we find some trees," Merry pointed out. "We should hurry too. I don't know if it's these monstrous clouds or the time of day, but it's getting terribly dark on top of everything else."

It was hard for any of them to see, but the gardener shook his head defiantly.

Mr. Baggins could, however. "Would you feel more comfortable crossing while holding onto something that floats? I'd be beside you every step of the way."

Sam sighed and looked at Frodo out of the corner of his eye. "But there's nothing around that floats, Mr. Frodo. Unless you're talking about you and your cousins. And one of them sank yesterday."

Pippin half pouted, still holding Merry's hand.

With a laugh Merry spoke up. "He's got a point, Frodo. There's nothing that floats around here."

Though sheets of rain hindered their sight, Frodo tried his best to peer across the river at the trees just beyond it. Other than blankets of gray and darkness, he couldn't make out anything, but he was pretty sure he knew the solution to this particular problem. "A log would do the trick."

"Yes? And where would we find this log? The bank is bare," Merry said.

Frodo smiled. "This side is. The other side isn't. Bindbale Wood isn't far inland."

Sam frowned. "We've still got the same problem, then. The logs are over there and we're over here."

Frodo pulled Merry and Pippin closer to him and Sam. "Right. All we have to do is send a couple of lads who can swim across The Water to fetch us a log so we can help you swim over. How does that sound?"

The frown on Sam's face turned upside-down.

Pippin, however, looked a bit worried.

-next...

The two of them were surprised to see that with the help of the trees, the rain had slackened its assault quite a bit. As a matter of fact, they might all be able to stay relatively dry under the canopy of forest, considering they would have no choice but to camp there that night. Assuming they would all be able to make it across the Water, that is.

"I'm sleepy," a little voice said from behind Merry.

"Well, you can sleep when we make camp. Right now we have to concentrate on getting a log across treacherous waters," Merry told Pippin. He wasn't in a very good mood at the moment. He thought they would have been better off dragging Sam across. It would have saved time and there were three of them. Then again good old Samwise was liable to drown them all. He was a very strong lad after all. So, since Sam had this irrational fear of drowning (very rational, however, if you can't swim) they were going to have to find a way to make it easier for him.

Pippin clutched Merry's overcloak once again. "The Water's not treacherous."

"To Sam it is."

"Oh..., right."

After a short silence, Merry sighed. "Will you let me go?"

"Frodo said that we should hold onto each other in case one of us gets lost," Pippin pointed out.

"That was when we couldn't see two feet in front of us. There's no need for it now."

Pippin frowned and reluctantly released Merry's overcloak.

"Let's hurry and find this log so we can settle in for the night," Merry told his little cousin.

The forest floor sinking beneath their every step, the young gentlehobbits scanned for any fallen timber that would assist their companion. Unseasonably cold wind suddenly began to chill their bones, yet they trudged on. Merry didn't like how quiet everything was, so he looked behind him to make sure Pippin was still following him. When he turned, he saw the smaller hobbit much closer behind him than he'd expected with his overcloak wrapped tightly around him.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way," Pippin said when he saw Merry look back at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"This adventure. It was supposed to be fun and...well, easy," Pippin said. "But this is just awful. It's a nightmare adventure. And it's all my fault. We should have just stayed in Bywater."

Merry frowned. He hated for his cousin to feel bad so he had to find some kind of way to lift his spirits. Besides, it wasn't like the trip had gone awry because of him. "Tell me, Pippin. Did you make it rain?"

Pippin shook his head slowly.

"And did you make all that fog show up on us back in the Westfarthing?"

Pippin shook his head again. "Faeries did that."

Merry rolled his eyes. "Not again with the faeries."

"No. I'm glad you brought it up-"

"I didn't bring it up," Merry interrupted.

"-because now that I think about it, that whole fog thing was YOUR fault," Pippin went on.

"MY fault? If you're referring to those mushrooms, you may as well blame yourself too. And Sam and Frodo as well. We all ate those mushrooms," Merry said.

Pippin stopped walking and sat on a fallen log. "But if you hadn't insisted on picking them, the faeries wouldn't have tormented us with all that fog."

"I suppose that next you're going to say that faeries caused all this rain. Pippin, we've all told you that faeries aren't real," Merry said.

Pippin's eyes got wide. "Of course! Merry, you're brilliant!" He hopped off the log.

"I was being sarcastic."

"I can't wait to tell Frodo and Sam. We should hurry and find a log so we can go back," Pippin said. He started walking again.

Merry was about to say something, but he looked at what Pippin had been sitting on. "Ah! A log."

"Yes, a log. That's what we're looking for out here, remember?" Pippin said. "And you said that I have a bad memory."

"No, you fool. You were just sitting on one," Merry said.

Pippin turned and looked at his former seat. Then he turned to Merry and gave an embarrassed grin. "Oh, well... What are we waiting for?"

-meanwhile...

Should he tell his master what happened between them last night? No. Of course not. That wouldn't be right at all! Drunken moments should remain drunken moments, especially when he'd already lied and said that he didn't remember the incident... It should have been as plain as that, but something in the back of his mind was bothering him, nagging at him. Maybe it was this uncomfortable silence they found themselves in currently.

Frodo looked to be in deep thought though, so maybe this silence wasn't as uncomfortable to him as it was to Sam. As a matter of fact, Frodo was just staring at all of their backpacks lying on the ground.

After a few more minutes, Sam couldn't take it anymore. "Is something wrong, Mr. Frodo?"

Frodo snapped out of his state and looked at Sam, then laughed a little.

"What?"

"Look at us. We're both standing here in the middle of the pouring rain looking like a couple of homeless rats," Frodo said, still laughing.

Sam shook his head and laughed a little himself.

Silence again, but this time a shorter one.

"Those two sure are taking a long time to get back," Frodo said. "Are you sure you don't want to try swimming across The Water? I'd be with you the whole time."

"You're worried about them, aren't you?" Sam asked.

"Yes. They may be lost. Neither of them has a good sense of direction. And there's also no telling what those two could get up to when they're by themselves," Frodo said.

"Well, sir, if you're worried about Mr. Merry and Mr. Pippin, then I can't stop you from going across that river. But there ain't nothing I can do to help. I can't swim at all and deep water terrifies me."

"That water's not deep, Sam. It's all in your head," Frodo said. "I'll show you." He went over and jumped in the river.

Sam watched him swim around for a moment and frowned.

"I'll go down to the bottom. That way you can tell how deep the water is by the amount of time it takes me to come back up," Frodo said.

Before Sam was able to respond, Frodo pushed himself down. He expected Frodo to come back up in a matter of seconds, but he didn't. "Mr. Frodo?" He tipped closer to the river, but with all the rain he wasn't able to see much of anything. "Frodo!"

Nothing. Not a sign... That is, until Sam heard his name being called from farther down the river.

"Sam! Help!" Frodo called. He was being dragged downstream.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam yelled. He scrambled along the bank, trying to see where Frodo had been swept off to. Unfortunately, the down pour hindered almost all sight. He scanned the river as best he could, but it was impossible to see anything.

And yet he still heard the cries, "Sam-!"

Sam barely understood it because it was cut off at the very end. His master was surely going under. It was strange because the waters didn't seem rough enough to drag someone under. But without a second thought Sam dove into the water and doggie paddled his way toward the desperate gurgling sounds.

When next he knew it, Sam was dragging Frodo up onto shore. His master was limp and rather clammy-feeling. He listened for any signs of life. "Mr. Frodo..."

He tried the old famous Gamgee resuscitation technique that was taught from generation to generation to every family member in case of any dinnertime incidents. But even after a few minutes of that, he still got no response. His master's lips had turned blue and his skin was as pale as death. "No, Frodo..." He pulled the body up onto his lap and hugged it to him, rocking back and forth all the while. The tears he shed mingled with the rain that poured down upon them. "I should have just told you," he whispered to the corpse he held. "I should have just told you what happened last night..."

End Chapter 4

a/n: Oops! Was that a cliffy? Shall I continue? Please review.


	5. Temporarily

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: The hobbits encounter even stranger goings on.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: A single review brought this chapter out. Hopefully it's not too disappointing.

a/n: Hmmmm... Maybe instead of writing I should take up reading other people's works to see where I'm going wrong...

Chapter 5: Temporarily

Coughing and gasping could be heard from far away, but to Sam, it was almost non-existent except for a little part of the back of his mind that picked it up. He was too busy mourning Frodo's death...until he felt Frodo's movements.

"Mr. Frodo? Are you alright?"

The only answer he got was the water Frodo spat forth from each cough.

"Mr. Frodo, you're alive!" Sam rejoiced. "I thought you were a goner for sure." He hugged his master to his chest.

Frodo was definitely shaken up. "I don't know what happened. It was like something grabbed me and started pulling me down the river, but nothing was there."

Sam looked toward The Water, half expecting to see some great monster that could have caused the best swimmer he knew to lose control.

"Sam..., I'm freezing," was all he could say as he shivered in Sam's arms.

Sam nodded. "Of course. You sit here. I'll go back for our backpacks." He jumped to his feet, removed his soaked overcloak and put it around Frodo.

Frodo looked up at him, confused. "But I can't take this. You'll catch cold."

"Don't worry about me, sir. You just sit there and keep warm. When I find our things, I'll get my cloak back," Sam said with a smile.

Before Sam was able to leave, Frodo grabbed his hand. "Sam, I'm sorry you had to get into the water against your will." He gave Sam and apologetic look. "I feel rather silly for jumping in myself... But you swam rather skillfully to get us to safety."

Sam blushed not only because he was embarrassed about discovering his new skill, but because Frodo had taken his hand. "I did swim, didn't I?" He frowned. "I never want to do that again."

Frodo giggled and let him go.

-after a long while...

Frodo hugged Sam's overcloak to him and shuddered against the chill. It was already cold out and with the constant downpour it was impossible to stay warm, but then there was something about The Water that was even colder still. He knew that the river was quite chilly when the weather was cold, but it was out of the ordinary for it to be this cold. It left his body feeling completely drained of life altogether. Had he not seen his own breath on the air, he would have believed himself dead.

And then there was that whole drowning incident. He'd been swimming all his life. Most of the other hobbits in Buckland said that he swam like a fish. There was no way that The Water could have overpowered him like that. The flow wasn't really that strong today. Then again, it didn't feel like a current either. It felt as if something had grabbed him and dragged him under, pulling him with the flow of the river. He remembered looking for whatever it could have been, but nothing was there. Nothing at all...

Thank goodness for Sam. His dear Sam who was always there for him no matter the circumstances.

"N-no matter th-the circumst-stances," he muttered through chattering teeth.

Because Sam was like that.

Speaking of Sam, Frodo could see him headed back his direction empty-handed and looking quite confused. Frodo could only raise an eyebrow.

"I must've gone the wrong way. I'll be back with those backpacks in no time," Sam said as he walked on by without stopping.

It was then Frodo who looked confused. Now, if he remembered right, Sam had always had an inexplicably good sense of direction. Maybe all the cold and rain was getting to him.

-another long while later...

Frodo had begun to doze when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

"Mr. Frodo, are you okay?" Sam asked, shivering like a freezing bird.

Mr. Baggins looked up at the gardener and smiled. "I'm fine, Sam. Just cold. But I imagine you're even colder. Come. We should use each other's body heat for warmth before we start moving again." Frodo said. He removed the cloak Sam had given him and beckoned his gardener over.

"But Mr. Frodo. I couldn't find our backpacks. I wonder if high tide came and washed them down the river," Sam said.

Frodo laughed and took Sam's hand, pulling him closer. "You silly hobbit. High tide occurs in the ocean, not rivers." He pulled Sam's hand until he sat beside him. Then he wrapped the cloak around his shoulders and leaned against him.

"Still worried about your cousins?" Sam asked.

Frodo nodded. "I feel guilty about sending them out there. Anything could have happened. They've been gone for hours."

"Well, Mr. Frodo. If there's one thing I've learned about Mr. Merry and Mr. Pippin, it's that they have a knack for getting themselves out of trouble."

Frodo shivered violently from a breeze that blew past them. "They also have a knack for getting themselves INTO trouble."

Sam moved closer and put his arm around his master's shoulders. "They'll be fine, sir. You'll see."

-meanwhile...

Pippin and Merry carried the fallen tree along with Merry in front and Pippin holding up the back end. They'd been walking for what seemed like hours, yet they hadn't made it out of the forest yet. Merry frowned. He was sure that if they'd kept going in one direction that they would come across The Water again. Or at least some clearing. Then again, he wasn't sure that he really wanted to come to a clearing considering the way the rain fell even in the forest.

"I'm hungry. Can't we stop for a bite to eat?" Pippin asked.

Merry sighed and turned to his cousin. "Stop and eat WHAT exactly? Our backpacks are with Frodo and Sam."

Pippin gasped. "I thought you brought yours. You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope."

"Every thing's working against us. First the faeries and now we have no food," Pippin said.

Merry rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? There is no faerie curse or whatever you think this is. It's just a case of bad weather." He looked up at the darkening sky as his face was pelted with drops of rain. "This rain is probably what caused all that fog." His eyes turned back to Pippin. "A natural occurrence, not faerie magic."

"What makes you think it's not?"

"Because it's lunacy. What makes you think it IS?"

Pippin frowned. "Because none of it started happening until those mushrooms were picked."

"I call that coincidence," Merry said simply.

Pippin was about to retort, but something over Merry's shoulder caught his attention. "Merry!"

"What is it?"

"Light! Light!" Pippin said, pointing and bouncing up and down.

Merry quickly turned and saw the illuminated area before them. After all the darkness and gloom they had faced today, this was the one good thing that had happened to them. The elder hobbit grinned. "And where there's light, there's warmth!"

They both dropped the log they'd been carrying and ran to the sunny patch. As soon as the two entered the small clearing they could feel the difference. It was summer again and they couldn't even hear the rainfall around them. It was as if they'd entered another world altogether. The young hobbits danced and skipped merrily, taking in the warmer, dryer air of the surrounding area.

But things around them seemed to slow down dramatically. Their movements weren't as lively and the air around them seemed to become heavy.

Merry felt as though something had possessed his body and caused him to grab Pippin's hand and sit on the ground with him. "Hey."

"Hm?" Pippin asked, toppling over easily. He giggled and sat upright, Merry holding his hand the whole time. "I feel funny," he said between giggles. "Like I've smoked too much pipe weed."

"So do I. Maybe it's the...sudden lack of rain," Merry suggested. He pulled Pippin closer and just looked at him for a while.

Pippin leaned in close and bumped his head against Merry's. "Ow."

Merry laughed and put his hand to his head. "What are you doing?"

"I was trying to kiss you," Pippin told him.

"Why?"

Pippin shrugged.

"Well, you missed," Merry pointed out.

They both burst out laughing.

Pippin leaned in again and licked Merry's lips in mid-laugh. This just made both of them giggle even more, so Merry did the same to Pippin. They both laughed out loud and Merry put his arms around Pippin's neck.

"Wanna try again?" Merry asked slowly.

"Try what again?" Pippin asked, moving to straddle Merry's legs and giggling a bit more calmly.

"The kiss," Merry said. "Wanna try again?" He seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open and his mind had all but slipped away. He noticed that Pippin's eyes were on the verge of closing as well.

Pippin nodded and slowly pressed his lips against his cousin's. Merry smiled against Pippin's lips and decided that he liked the feel of them. He played at the curls on the back of Pippin's neck, making the younger hobbit's giggles stop altogether. The two of them just stayed with their lips locked for a moment before Merry felt Pippin lick his lips again...and then again. The elder hobbit's smile went away and he breathed deeply through his nose. For some reason he didn't feel like he was getting enough oxygen, but with Pippin licking his lips every other second, he wasn't sure if he should open his mouth.

Unfortunately, after what seemed like at least a minute of insufficient air, Merry had to open his mouth and before he was able to take in a breath, the younger hobbit's tongue darted inside. Merry's whole world view changed before his eyes and suddenly he was remembering things that he was sure never happened-kissing Pippin and Pippin kissing him in the foggy darkness outside the Green Dragon Inn. Before now he'd had absolutely no memory of it, but their current situation brought it back from the recesses of his befuddled brain.

The tongue Merry was certain he'd always have control over began moving on its own, gently caressing the tongue that had invaded his mouth, slithering out to explore his cousin's mouth. Merry felt Pippin press up against him and a little sound that he'd never heard before came from the smaller hobbit. It caused him to suddenly realize that he was getting the strangest feeling from his stomach to his pelvis...

And then he remembered to breathe. He pulled away from Pippin and took in some much needed air. He heard Pippin do the same.

The younger hobbit smiled. "I liked that. I'm glad I did it."

Merry nodded and kept trying to catch his breath. He looked straight up expecting to see a clear sky, but surprisingly what he saw were the same dark clouds and the treetops encircled the little clearing they were in. "Pippin, I don't know about this."

Pippin could barely sit upright without swaying. "Know about what? What's wrong?" He looked up to see what his cousin was looking at and frowned. "Merry, where's the light coming from?"

"That's what I don't know about," Merry said. "I don't like this."

Pippin saw something out of the corner of his eye and got off of Merry's lap abruptly. He could have sworn he saw two other hobbits sitting on the ground not far away. A fair-haired lad and a raven-haired lass that were no longer anywhere to be seen. The younger hobbit put his hand on Merry's shoulder and looked around.

"What?" Merry asked.

"Did you just see that?"

"See what?"

Pippin let Merry go and wandered to the edge of the small circular clearing. "I saw something. Two hobbits."

Merry raised an eyebrow. "You mean Frodo and Sam?"

"No. These were hobbits I've never seen before," Pippin said. "A lass and a lad." He went over to place he saw them sitting and looked around. "They were here just a second ago and then they disappeared."

In the blink of an eye the light in that strange area was suddenly gone and the darkness and rain returned. The little forest paradise was once again reduced to the nightmare they had been living in since they entered the Northfarthing.

"What in the Shire is happening here?" Merry asked.

Pippin ran over to Merry and stood close to him. "We should leave. We should just go back to where we left Sam and Frodo."

Merry saw Pippin's eyes fluttering as they both became unsteady on their feet. "You're right, Pip. We should leave this place."

-in the meantime...

Sam now had both arms around Frodo as they sat in silence. There was something about having Sam this close to him that just made him feel...different. He felt safe. He felt warm. He felt like closing his eyes and holding onto this moment forever, even if rain WAS constantly pouring down on them. So Frodo did just that. He closed his eyes and he saw it all...

_"You probably don't see it this way, but I dote on you too," Frodo had said during their stay at the Green Dragon. It was just he and Sam and he had his gardener right where he wanted him. Though he'd been drinking quite a bit, he was of semi-sound mind. Good-bye inhibitions, hello sweet Sam._

_ Sam gasped, but Frodo was leaning in close for a kiss anyway. Not the first one they'd shared that night._

_ He saw Sam flinch at his movement. So shy. So anxious. Frodo could feel it. He'd just been talking out of his head when he made the accusation earlier: '...you've always doted on me like I was your biggest crush'. And from the blush that rose to his companion's cheeks, he could tell that it was true. Or at least when he was drunk it was true._

_ Frodo put his hand on Sam's arm to help comfort him, relax him, and it seemed to work because when he lay his lips upon Sam's again there was no doubt in his mind that this was something his gardener wanted. He pulled Sam with him up to the head of the bed where he climbed under the covers, still trying his best to keep his lips in contact with Sam's._

_ "Sir, wait!" Sam said. "What exactly do you have planned here?"_

_ Frodo shrugged. He didn't really care what they did as long as they did it together. He was a little surprised at how cautious Sam seemed to be even under the influence of alcohol. "Get in bed."_

_ Sam looked as though he had to think about it, but it didn't take long for him to slide under the covers with his master and just lie there, looking at him. "I can't believe it, Sir."_

_ Frodo giggled. "Well, you had better start believing it because I don't want to be the only one doing the kissing around here."_

_ Sam smiled one of those coy smiles of his. "I'd probably do better if I put the lamp out."_

_ Frodo sighed. "If that's what it will take, then by all means, please do."_

_ Sam sat up and blew out the lamp, but before he could get comfortable again, Frodo had sat up too and had his arms around Sam's neck._

_ "Now, how's that?" Frodo asked._

_ "Better...," Sam replied._

_ "Well?"_

_ He could feel his gardener take a deep unsteady breath and then he felt one quick movement before a pair of lips were upon his. It was much different than when he had kissed Sam. It was he who was being kissed this time. And he loved it. He loved it so much that he took control once again and this time he negotiated Sam's mouth open with a simple flick of his tongue._

_ And he tasted Sam and felt Sam's breath on his face and heard the little sound of surprise Sam made and he was hooked. He never wanted to let his Sam go..._

But that was a drunken Sam. A drunken, yet somehow rational Sam. And after those feelings came flooding back to him, Frodo looked at his soaking wet and sober Sam who so protectively held him in his arms and thought about kissing him again. What if Sam didn't like doing things like that while he was sober, though? What a disappointment that would be. Not to mention it would be terribly embarrassing. He should instead try to coax a kiss out of him. How deceitful. How tempting.

Frodo put his arms around Sam's waist and nuzzled his face closer to Sam's. Once again he could feel Sam's breath, which for some reason was just too irresistible. And Sam turned to him, eyes downcast, and nuzzled closer to him as well. This was a good sign even though the winds that blew about them were tossing droplets of rain this way and that.

Maybe he should think about what he was about to do. He would have no excuses if things went according to plan. But there were only a few ways this could go: 1) he would kiss Sam and Sam would kiss him back because he wanted to; 2) he would kiss Sam and Sam would kiss him back because he felt it was his duty or because he didn't want 'Mr. Frodo' to feel bad (out of pity in other words); or 3) he would kiss Sam and Sam would push him away, completely disgusted by the very thought. He would have to find a way to spare himself such a disgrace.

Perhaps if he slowly tilted his head, like so, and let his lips brush 'accidentally' against the corner of his gardener's mouth. Oh, this was just torture, but he couldn't risk losing his favorite hobbit in the world. Sam, however, didn't seem to notice the small gesture. He would have to kick things up a bit if he wanted results. What results? He wasn't sure, but he was sure that he'd know them when he saw them.

Frodo carefully buried his nose between Sam's nose and cheekbone. A very good place for a cold nose to go, but his lips were so close to Sam's that he was almost unable to control himself. Especially when Sam's mouth opened. Frodo could swear he'd heard a barely audible, yet sharp intake of breath, but he couldn't be too sure.

So close, yet so far. Now what would he do? Sam wouldn't dare be so bold as to take advantage of such a situation. Even with being only inches from his target. He wasn't even sure if Sam would WANT to take advantage of it.

The Baggins didn't dare move. Any little motion he made would change the situation altogether. There would be no turning back. He wanted to speak, but there was nothing he could say for himself.

And then something happened. While Frodo was as still as a mountain, Sam moved his head a bit, perhaps to position his nose the way Frodo had his, but their lips brushes ever so gently. Whether it was an accident or not, he couldn't tell, but he knew he had to make this last longer. He could tell that Sam was about to pull away, so he repositioned his head so that his nose rubbed across Sam's and made it to the other side, but not before his lips touched Sam's again, this time harder. Frodo tried to make it seem natural. He tried not to react by simply kissing his Sam. But he felt Sam's breathing change. It sped up. And the same happened to Frodo's.

Again he felt the gardener move. Sam had followed Frodo's example and changed them back to their original position. And as he did that their lips brushed again. Frodo couldn't take it any more. This had to be the sign he was looking for. So he changed sides again and intentionally pressed his lips against Sam's. And when Sam didn't pull away, he smiled on the inside. There was a bit of truth in alcohol-induced kissing after all.

The master of Bag End let out a sigh of relief and decided to become bolder. He began gently teasing Sam's lips with the tip of his tongue. If Sam hadn't been sure about what Frodo had been doing before, he had to be sure of it now.

Sam gasped and pulled away. Frodo looked at his rain-soaked gardener wide-eyed. This was bad. This was super bad. Sam would resign from his position as Bag End's gardener and tell Frodo that he's offended and never wants to see him again.

Sam's eyes finally met Frodo's and he cleared his throat. "Mr. Frodo, there's something I think you should know."

This was it. Frodo braced himself for disappointment, destruction, the foreclosure of a dream. But he had to remain calm. He had to save face. "Yes, Sam?" he asked as if nothing had just happened between them.

"That night... Last night at the Green Dragon...," Sam began. He took a deep breath. "We shared a bed."

Frodo just looked at Sam for a while, then said, "Yes, I know."

Sam was blushing and he looked away from his master. "Well, when the river nearly took your life, I thought about that night. And what happened..."

All Frodo could do was sit there and stare at his companion. His mind wouldn't even register the raindrops that ran into his eyes.

Sam shook his head. "Oh, you'd never believe me if I told you..., but I guess now that I've started I can't turn back. You and I shared a bed and we were both pretty drunk... And we were kissing. That's what I remember. I know I should have told you sooner. I shouldn't have lied about not knowing what happened that night. And when I thought you were dying, I was sure that I'd never be able to tell you."

Frodo just watched the rain run down Sam's face for a while.

Sam frowned after his master didn't speak. "I had a feeling you wouldn't believe me."

"No, Sam. It's not that I don't believe you. It's just that I'm a little surprised you remember it."

Sam lowered his head. "I know I said I didn't remember anything from that night, but if I would've told you something like that, I was afraid you'd think I was lying."

Frodo smiled and pulled Sam close. "I remember that night as well. But I didn't tell you because I thought you would never want to be around me again. And that's a punishment I simply couldn't live with."

Sam's smile literally lit up Frodo's world despite the rain and the darkness. The area they were sitting in was now sunny and the rain had completely stopped. Warmth enveloped their bodies and a feeling of serenity and the smell of summer filled their minds.

"Oh, thank the stars above. All that rain finally stopped," Sam said slowly. "Now we'd probably have a better chance of finding your cousins."

Just as Frodo was about to agree, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was big enough and fast enough to frighten him terribly. He gasped. "Sam, we're not alone."

End Chapter 5

a/n: Strange chapter, but things are only about to get stranger for our four hobbit friends. Wanna know what happens next? Reply to this chapter and you just may get your wish. In the meantime, I think I'll do what I said and just read other people's stories for a while.


	6. Gimme Shelter

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: The hobbits finally find shelter from the storm.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: A few people were very kind enough to send me some reviews. Thank you so very much. For that, I simply had to get this chapter out. But I obviously still have to improve somewhere because not many people seem to like this story. So after this chapter I plan to go on my quest to see where I'm going wrong.

Chapter 6: Gimme Shelter

Pippin held onto the back of Merry's overcloak as they wandered through the surrounding area in desperate search of the log they'd abandoned when they spotted their temporary source of light. Both hobbits were extremely groggy at this time and wanted nothing more than a nice meal, a dry place to rest, and lots of sleep.

Merry was quite irritated by the fact that Pippin was clinging to him, but he was too tired to even argue. He simply pushed his curls out of his eyes and marched on.

Pippin suddenly stumbled to the ground and lay there for a moment.

The Brandybuck turned to his little cousin and sighed. "Come on, Pip. We have to find that stupid log before the entire Shire is covered in water."

"I don't think I can go on, Merry," Pippin said. "Go ahead without me and tell Frodo and Sam that I died a hero."

"You're not dying. You're just tired. I'm tired too, but you don't see me wallowing in the mud," Merry told him.

No reply.

"Come on, Pippin. Get up," Merry demanded.

Nothing still.

"Pippin, don't make me drag you AND that log back to Frodo and Sam," Merry said, putting his hands on his hips.

For a second there was silence, then Pippin spoke up. "Merry, what happened back there?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Merry said. He finally summoned the strength to pull the younger hobbit to his feet.

Pippin whined but allowed himself to be hoisted up. "And who were those other hobbits? Why would they be out in the middle of the forest?"

Merry started walking again. "Why would WE be out in the middle of the forest?" he muttered to himself, then he started talking to his cousin again. "Now, I was there for the whole 'light with no sun' thing and the whole..." He paused. He didn't want to bring up the fact that they had kissed. He couldn't even be sure it had happened. All he knew was that he felt strange just thinking about it. "I didn't see any hobbits."

Pippin scurried up next to his cousin. "You didn't see them?"

"Listen," the elder hobbit began. "Your imagination is just running wild. This rain'll stop soon and we'll be in Long Cleeve before you know it. Then you can see your lass and be happy." The last statement sounded a bit forced...

"It's not my imagination. I know what I saw," Pippin argued.

"This isn't like the monster in the river that turned out to be a turtle, is it Pip?" Merry asked. "Or like the time we were at Folco Boffin's and you swore you saw something in the closet, but it was just a hat? Or like the time we were in Farmer Maggot's field and you saw a dwarf standing amongst the corn, but it turned out to be one of those dogs?" He shook his head. "You have to admit, you do have a pretty wild imagination sometimes."

Pippin was about to defend himself when he saw something fly overhead. A huge crow glided into a nearby tree and perched there. "So, am I imagining that a bird is sitting in that tree staring at us?"

Merry turned and looked at the bird. He was a little surprised to see one so big and it was indeed eying them. "Well, I wouldn't say STARING, exactly." He turned back to Pippin. "But this is the woods. You expect to see things like that."

Pippin was still looking at the bird and even through the rain he could see what seemed to simply appear there. "Do you expect to see about two dozen birds sitting in a tree staring at us?"

Turning back around, Merry indeed saw that where there was once only one crow, there were now at least twenty. He turned back to Pippin, trying to seem unshaken by the oddity of it. "Sure, why not? It's their home."

Pippin started backing away. "Merry, run," he murmured.

"What?"

"RUN!"

His cousin didn't have to say it a third time. They both took off through the forest, low twigs slapping them in the face. The rain that had been coming down lightly due to the cover of the trees had become impossibly harder. And now their ability to see was hampered. Merry wasn't even sure what he was running from, but he had a good idea once he heard about eight crows cry out behind them.

After they made it a good ways from where they'd started, the crows could still be heard, but it was a little farther behind them. Merry started to slow down, but Pippin was still going at full speed. "Hold on, Pippin. Look at us. We're running from a flock of birds."

Pippin slowed down a little and turned around to see that Merry had stopped running altogether. "What are you doing? Let's go."

"For starters, we don't even know where we're going. And secondly, I'm not about to let some birds chase me all over the forest. That's silly."

"You're right," Pippin said with a frown. "We're bigger than they are. Besides, they're probably more afraid of us than we are of them." He walked over to Merry and laughed.

Merry laughed too. "Come on, Pippin. Let's just grab some stones and scare them away. They're birds. What are they gonna do?" He proceeded to pick up rocks.

Pippin smiled and nodded, then followed his lead.

The cloud of blackness drew nearer and when they got close enough, Pippin and Merry started throwing their stones. Unfortunately, the swarm kept coming like nothing had happened.

Pippin looked worried, but Merry obviously wasn't. The elder hobbit stood his ground.

But Merry's bravado wasn't enough to stop the crows. The birds attacked both of the hobbits, clawing and pecking at them relentlessly.

"Merry?" Pippin cried, looking for some new advice as he tried to swat the feathered fiends away.

"Forget this! Just run! RUN!" Merry called out.

And once again they were on the move, running faster than they ever had.

-elsewhere...

Sam looked around, but there was nothing in sight. "What do you mean, 'we're not alone'?"

"I just saw something go by," Frodo said. "It was as big as one of us. Are you sure you didn't see it?" He looked around, but nothing was there.

Sam helped his master to his feet and suddenly he felt light-headed, dazed, just plain tired. Maybe he'd expended too much of his energy in search of their backpacks. Maybe it was the after effect of the kiss he and Frodo had shared. Either way, he could feel himself beginning to tilt. And Frodo seemed to sway as well.

"Mr. Baggins, Mr. Gamgee, welcome," a voice said to them.

The two did their best to focus and looked around frantically for the source.

"What's the matter? Can't you see me?" the mystery voice asked.

Frodo frowned. "What manner of trickery is this? Show yourself!"

Sam moved in front of his master. "Stay away, evil thing. Don't you come near him."

"Evil thing? I've done nothing to warrant such a title," the voice said from behind them.

The two hobbits turned around and to their surprise they saw another hobbit standing there. He had fair hair and strangely pale eyes.

Sam moved Frodo behind him and frowned at the lad. "Who are you? How do you know our names?"

"What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" Frodo asked.

The stranger put his hands behind his back. "I should be asking you that, seeing that you're foreigners and all."

"Well, we asked first," Frodo pointed out.

The unnamed hobbit leaned to the side so he could get a better look at Frodo. "Well, I'm here because you are here. And I am who I was, or rather who I WASN'T, as it were."

Sam was dumbstruck.

Frodo moved from behind Sam and put his hands on his hips. "That wasn't an answer at all. Speak plainly. We have no time for riddles."

"It seems you, young sirs, have more than enough time for a lot of things. Be patient. All answers will come in due time," the stranger said.

Frodo groaned. "This is madness. Do you live here or not? Because if you do, my friends and I are tired and cold and hungry. If you could give us a place to stay for the night, we would gladly see to it that you receive payment for your kind deed."

The hobbit smiled. "And here I thought I had provided you with a kind enough deed."

Both Sam and Frodo looked confused.

"Here's a deed for you," the stranger said. He held up his index finger and the light that had been around them was suddenly gone. The darkness and the flood had returned.

"Oh, this is just horrible," Sam cried.

"Thank you," the hobbit said with a grin.

"Who or what are you?" Frodo asked.

"I'm the fellow who put you to sleep. Too bad you won't remember it," the hobbit told them.

Before Frodo and Sam could even respond, they blacked out.

-later...

The master and the gardener awoke at the same time, neither of them sure of what had just happened or where they were. Where they had once been beside The Water, they were now surrounded by trees.

"What in The Shire happened? Where are we?" Frodo asked.

Sam scanned the area and frowned. "I have no idea, Mr. Frodo. But at least these trees are helping keep some of this rain off us."

Frodo just sat there and closed his eyes, trying to gather his senses. The last thing he remembered was sitting in that dreadful downpour with Sam. They'd huddled together for warmth and had even kissed. He blushed at the thought. 'This isn't the time to think about that,' he thought.

But then there had been light and warmth and the rain had stopped. Unfortunately, that was all he recalled. Now they were in a wooded area and it was raining again.

Out of nowhere there was a strange sound behind them and suddenly Merry and Pippin went running by.

"Merry! It's Frodo and Sam!" Pippin called, coming to a halt.

Merry quickly stopped and turned to them. "Come on. We've got to get out of here," he said to all of them.

"What? Why?" Sam asked.

"No time to explain! Just RUN!" Merry told him, helping Sam to his feet.

Pippin hurried over and helped Frodo up. When he looked behind them, he gasped. "They're gaining on us."

Frodo and Sam had to turn around and see what had these two all weirded out. Not only did they see a strange gray mist that could only be more rain, they also saw a huge black mass of crows coming in from above, several snakes, a boar and three huge bears.

"Are these things...CHASING you?" Frodo asked.

Merry and Pippin had started running again. Sam grabbed his master's hand and started pulling him along.

-later...

It was long after dark when they reached the outskirts of the woods. The Water was right in front of them and the parade of animals that had been chasing them didn't seem to want to leave the cover of the trees. Unfortunately, that left our adventurers right back where they started-walking through a relentless downpour-only this time they didn't have any supplies, a map or adequate light.

Pippin sat where he stood and wrapped his drenched, muddied overcloak around himself tightly. "This is unbelievable."

"What happened back there? Why were all those animals after you?" Frodo asked. He took a seat on the ground as well.

Merry scoffed. "How exactly are we supposed to know something like that? Stop and ask them?" He shook his head. "What were you two doing on this side of The Water? I thought Sam couldn't swim."

Sam frowned.

"It's the strangest thing, really. We just woke up there," Frodo said. "I'm not sure what's been happening out here, but there have been some bazaar events occurring. I was dragged under water by SOMETHING. This weird light came out of nowhere. And then we were mysteriously sleeping in the woods. That just doesn't make sense."

Pippin gasped. "Did you say, weird light?"

Merry raised his eyebrows.

The Baggins nodded.

"It wasn't just the light. The rain had stopped too," Sam told them.

"Do you remember anything else? Two hobbits maybe?" Pippin questioned.

Both Sam and Frodo shook their heads.

Merry shook his head as well, but for a different reason. "Pippin, I already told you that that never happened."

"But it did. I saw them," Pippin argued.

"That's enough, Pip," Merry told him.

"You don't believe me...," Pippin said. "You REALLY don't believe me. You can believe that Sam and Frodo just spontaneously appeared in the middle of the woods, but it's not even possible that I could have seen two strange hobbits in the middle of the woods?"

Frodo and Sam could only look at them as they went back and forth.

"Just like you don't believe that faeries are the ones causing all this...this bad stuff to happen," Pippin continued.

Merry rolled his eyes. "Oh, brother. Again with the faeries. You are having a serious problem coming to grips with reality these days."

"I know that Frodo and Sam appearing out of nowhere was real. I know that a bunch of animals chasing us through the woods was real. I know that...," Pippin stopped. He was about to bring up their kiss, but only blushed instead.

"That's right. Those things happened. But you've never actually seen a faerie before, let alone watched one do a dance and curse us," Merry said.

"How do you know they dance when they curse you?" the youngest hobbit asked, genuinely curious.

The Brandybuck groaned loudly. "Faeries don't curse people! And faeries don't do dances! Faeries are NOT REAL!"

"Okay, you two. I've let this go on long enough. The real problem here is that we're all tired. We should all huddle close together. It's already cold and it's only getting colder," Frodo intervened.

"I'm not huddling anywhere near THAT hobbit," Pippin said. He started to sulk.

At first Merry looked surprised, but then he sat where he stood. "Like I care. I'd like to be as far away from HIM as possible."

"Now you're both just being childish," Frodo said. "Merry, you should know better. You're thirty-three years old, for the sake of everything under the sky. Pippin's twenty-five. I expect him to behave that way."

Sam just ignored them all and settled down on a slightly more elevated piece of ground.

"So, you're saying this is MY fault? Oh, be reasonable, Frodo. Just because he's younger doesn't mean we should cater to him and let him have his way all the time," Merry said.

"What are you talking about?" Frodo asked, looking confused.

"I don't know! I feel light-headed. I'm going to bed. Where's my blanket?" Merry asked.

Frodo frowned. "Well, you see, the thing is... Well, we were just suddenly sleeping in the middle of the woods and we didn't have any of the backpacks with us. That's why we'll have to huddle together for warmth."

Pippin finally stood and headed toward the raised piece of ground where Sam lay. "Well, I know who I'm huddling with." He smiled down at Sam. "Hullo. I'll be sleeping next to you tonight." The young hobbit didn't wait for an answer. He just plopped down on the mud beside Sam and curled up as close to him as he could.

Sam looked a little surprised. "Alright, Mr. Pippin." He gave Frodo a look.

Master Baggins could only shrug.

Merry just watched for a moment before he folded his arms across his chest and sighed. "Fine. Frodo, you're smaller. You get in the middle with Pippin. I'll be on the outside."

"But I'm taller than you," Frodo pointed out.

"Yes, but you're only skin and bones and you're always cold. Go on," Merry told him.

Frodo smiled. "Thank you, Merry."

Merry shook his head. "I just don't want to sleep next to Pippin is all."

"Yes, but we could have slept on the other side of Sam and left Pippin on the end," Frodo whispered with a grin. "You can't hold a grudge." He took his position.

"Well, that would just be cruel. You know how cold he gets," Merry whispered as he lay beside Frodo.

-the next day...

The four hobbits sloshed along the road silently through the pouring rain, mud collecting between their toes all the while. They each had loads on their minds, but didn't have the words to express what they were thinking. And a hungry hobbit was a quiet hobbit. They hadn't had any real food since they came to the Northfarthing. The only thing they could eat were some wild plants that Sam quietly approved as edible. It had been a long day and it was nearing nightfall again when they reached the village of Oatbarton. Their first objectives, as they all decided, would be to find someplace to have a nice hot meal and a nice hot bath.

As a matter of fact, they were lucky enough to stumble across a bath house when they first came into town.

"Good evening," Merry said to the bath house attendant. He took a deep shuttering breath and rubbed his arms in order to keep warm. "We'd like 4 steaming hot baths, if you please."

The other hobbits were huddled together to help break the chill that ran through their bodies.

"Ah, good evening to you, kind gentlehobbit," the attendant said. The hobbit was somewhat young, looking to be in his late thirties. His hair was fair, a longer than most hobbit males, and his eyes were strangely pale. One could hardly tell what color they were. He looked from Merry to his companions. "Unusual weather we're having as of late."

Pippin frowned. Something here wasn't right and he could feel it. There was something about this strange hobbit that was very familiar.

"Indeed," Frodo murmured through chattering teeth.

The attendant called in his sister to help fetch the water for their baths. "Name's Duroger Lightfoot. This here's my sister, Wisteria. We'll do what we can to make you feel comfortable... I don't recall seeing you fellows around these parts," he commented as they went about working on their baths.

Wisteria was tall for a hobbit lass and her body was somewhat disproportioned, her hips flaring out appealingly from her thin waist. (Her bosom, hadn't quite developed as much as her lower half.) Her curls were not fair like her brother's. As a matter of fact, hers were much darker than even Frodo's, but her eyes matched her brother's exactly, strangely pale and of indeterminable color. She eyed all of the visitors, but a small smile came to her lips when she looked at Merry.

Pippin got a feeling of deja-vu when he looked at the siblings, but he couldn't understand it.

"Actually, we're travelers," Merry told them. "Meriadoc Brandybuck is my name and-"

"Brandybuck. Of course," Wisteria interrupted in a sweet, seductive tone. "A strong family name."

Merry stopped in mid-sentence and looked at her, raising his eyebrows when he saw her smiling at him.

Since Merry couldn't seem to go on speaking, Frodo took over. "I'm Meriadoc's cousin, Frodo Baggins. This is our other cousin, Peregrin Took. And this is my friend, Samwise Gamgee."

Sam was a little surprised that Frodo had introduced him as his friend instead of as his gardener. Surely he didn't deserve to be referred to as Frodo's friend, but he wasn't about to argue the point. It felt good to be referred to as a friend.

While they were being introduced, Pippin noticed how Wisteria was behaving with Merry. Something nagged at him from within, but he blew it off and tried to concentrate on the fact that he would soon have a hot bath.

Duroger nodded to each of them as they were introduced. "It's good to have you here. I assume you'll be wanting a cozy place to rest your weary bones, then, being foreigners and all."

"If you have a suggestion, that would be lovely," Frodo said.

As the attendant and his sister went about fetching their baths, Wisteria kept her eyes on Merry the whole while.

"Why go back out in that weather to find an inn when you could stay in the guest rooms here?" Duroger asked.

Sam smiled. "Oh, what luck!" He looked at Frodo and put his head down. "It would be a pity to get all warmed up just to go back out and get rained on again, if you don't mind me saying, sir."

With a little giggle, Frodo put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "You're right." Then he frowned. "Oh, but we wouldn't want to be a bother."

"No bother at all," Wisteria finally spoke up again. "It's the reason bath houses have guest rooms."

Pippin saw Wisteria give Merry a look as she was speaking and frowned. He didn't like the idea of staying with these strangers, especially with this lass who seemed so keen on Merry.

"Besides, Wisteria's a great cook. You could have supper with us tonight and breakfast with us in the morning," Duroger said.

Frodo watched Sam's face light up and couldn't help giggling again. "Well, it would be silly to say no to that." He looked at his cousins and nodded to them. "I guess that means we'll be staying here for tonight."

End Chapter 6

a/n: A strange chapter indeed. It probably didn't make a whole lot of sense. It was probably confusing. If you hated it, let me know why it was so horrible. If you liked it and want me to continue, all you have to do is ask. In the meantime, I'll be rummaging through this site.

a/n: Oh, and if there are typos, please let me know. I didn't go over this chapter very well. (Shame on me!)


	7. Add It Up

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: The hobbits try to make sense of their situation.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: Dear Reviewers, I thank you so very much for the inspiration to go on with this story. You are saving it from becoming just another piece of incomplete fan fiction.

Chapter 7: Add It Up

In a steam-filled room with four tubs sat four naked hobbits, soaking in the warmth that had evaded them for so long. They were still silent. It was easy to tell that they were all thinking about the same thing-the strange occurrences in Bindbale Wood.

"Alright. Nobody else is gonna say this, but I will. What in The Shire has been happening around us?" Sam asked.

There was another shorter silence before two hobbits spoke up. "I have no idea," both Pippin and Merry said at the same time. They looked at each other and scowled. Even after a rainy night's sleep and a rainy day's trudge, they were still at odds.

Frodo sighed. "I'll admit, there have been some very strange things happening recently. And it can't be just one big coincidence."

"Don't tell me you're on a faerie trip too," Merry said.

Pippin frowned. "Well, if you've got a better explanation, I'd like to hear it."

Frodo held up his dripping hand to silence them. "Listen, I don't know about you two, but I've had one too many strange things happen to me to argue amongst ourselves." He looked at Pippin. "We have to be rational and reasonable." Casting his eyes upon Merry, he added, "But we can't rule out the fantastic either."

"You're all bonkers if you're willing to entertain the thought," Merry told them.

Frodo splashed his hand down in his bathwater angrily. "Merry, I was in The Water and I felt something's HANDS or whatever they were GRAB my ankle and start pulling me under. Nothing was there. Nothing." He closed his eyes to help calm himself. "Whatever that thing was, I couldn't see it."

Pippin looked surprised.

"You were under water. It was pretty cloudy yesterday," Merry rationalized. "I refuse to believe that some invisible creature dragged you under water."

"That's because it wasn't you. And you weren't there neither," Sam finally spoke up. "Mr. Frodo was terrified and he's the best swimmer I know, so I know it wasn't just nothing."

The Brandybuck played at the sides of his tub. "Point taken." He looked up at Frodo. "What were you doing in The Water anyway, Frodo? Weren't you waiting for us to come back with a log?"

"Well, you two were gone for so long that I thought something had happened to you. So I tried to persuade Sam that the water was safe. I guess I was wrong," Frodo explained.

Pippin frowned. "Wait. If something was pulling you under, how did you escape?"

Frodo looked at Sam.

Sam swirled his bathwater with his index finger. "I went in after him."

Merry rolled his eyes. "You saved him? You SWAM to him and then SWAM both of you back to safety?"

The gardener nodded.

"So you sent us off to possibly die when you could have just swum across?" Merry asked.

Sam lowered his head.

The Baggins sighed. "Merry, will you let us finish?" He cleared his throat and went on. "Now, after that Sam went looking for our backpacks." He looked at Sam once again.

"There was no sign of them anywhere. I went down both ends of the shore. Nothing," Sam said. "I think somebody or something ran off with them."

Merry submerged in his tub to rinse his hair, then came back up. "Did you ever stop to think that you weren't on that side of The Water anymore?"

Sam and Frodo looked at each other.

"Ah," Merry said. "You could have easily been swept to the opposite shore in all the confusion." He gave a smug look.

"Fine. That may or may not be the case, but that doesn't explain the thing that grabbed me," Frodo retorted.

"And then that weird light," Sam added.

Pippin perked up. "Yes. Tell us more about the light."

"We already told you. That's really all we remember about it. It was like it was suddenly a clear summer day. It was warm and you could smell flowers," Sam told the youngest of them.

"There was a sense of comfort," Frodo put in. "And then we were in the woods." He raised his eyebrows. "What exactly is your obsession with this light, Pippin?"

Pippin looked at Merry. "Because we saw a light too. Just like what you described, except it was in the middle of the woods."

Merry shook his head.

"And the smells and the air and everything there made you feel happy and safe," Pippin went on. He thought back to the kiss once again and turned deep red. When he glanced at Merry, he could tell he was thinking about it as well. "Um..., then we looked up and saw the strangest thing..."

"What? What did you see?" Frodo asked in a whisper. Both he and Sam seemed to be sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the rest of the story.

Pippin nodded to Merry. "Tell them."

Merry ran his fingers through his wet curls. "There was no light source," he muttered.

"Pardon me?" Frodo said.

"There was no light source, alright?" Merry repeated. "But that doesn't mean anything."

"No, that means a lot," Frodo corrected.

"The same clouds were there and we couldn't tell where the light was coming from," Pippin said.

Before he could say anything else, Sam interrupted. "Mr. Pippin, why were all those animals chasing you?"

The Took shrugged. "I don't know. We tried to scare them away, but it didn't work. So we ran and that's when we found you."

Frodo frowned. "Maybe the woods are just...weird."

"Nah, that's just The Old Forest on the border of Buckland," Merry said.

"Oh, you believe in a haunted, shifting, bending forest, but you don't believe that faeries have cursed us?" Pippin asked.

"I believe what I SEE," Merry informed.

Frodo sighed. "Let's hear Pippin out for a minute, Merry." This was all very tiring to him. He would be glad when he could jump into a bed after sleeping on the cold wet ground last night. "Pippin, why would faeries curse us? What did we ever do to them?"

"We destroyed their faerie ring," Pippin said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"The mushrooms we ate back in Bywater?" Sam asked.

Pippin gave a nod. "They say that if you disturb a faerie circle-"

"-the faeries will put a spell on you," Frodo finished for him. "Or at least that's the way the stories go."

Sam was finally enlightened. "But that was days ago. We only started having problems since we entered the woods."

"No...," Pippin began. He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "There were other things. After Merry and I picked those mushrooms, there was fog suddenly out of nowhere. And Merry and I were nearly trampled by a runaway pony..."

"You were drunk. You don't know if that really happened. It MAY have been a dream," Merry pointed out. But then he remembered the images that came to mind when he and Pippin were kissing in the illuminated clearing in the forest. He actually recalled abandoning the road to get away from the wild pony. He knew that much had happened.

Pippin sighed and nonchalantly splashed around in his tub a little. "I'm telling you what I know so we can try to get to the bottom of this."

"That's all we're doing right now," Frodo said. "All we're doing now is bringing up what has been happening. And you're not helping, Merry."

Merry frowned. "Well, you said that we have to be reasonable and none of you are being reasonable... Okay, I'll help..." He tried to think of a way to talk around the fact that he and Pippin had kissed in the woods. "You know when Pippin and I went over to that strange light? That feeling of being happy and safe? Well, we were just enjoying that feeling and it made us pretty tired for some reason, but we didn't go to sleep..." He looked at the surface of his bathwater.

Pippin blushed because he had a pretty good idea that Merry would talk about the kiss next. Oh, he hoped he wouldn't bring that up. What would Frodo think? And Sam? What would they say about something like that?

"Um...," Merry said.

Sam and Frodo were waiting patiently for what Merry had to tell them.

"Uh... Pippin saw something," Merry finally managed to say.

The young Took's mind had been on the kiss the whole time, so he wasn't really sure what Merry was talking about. But before he could get his mind in gear, there was a knock on the bathing room door.

"Young sirs! Supper is served," came the sweet voice of Wisteria.

Pippin's mind went straight to food. "Mm! We're on our way!"

Wisteria giggled. "In naught but your skin? That would make for interesting conversation. No, Duroger has some things in his personal wardrobe that should fit you nicely."

As soon as she said that, the door opened and Duroger came in with an arm full of clothes. He laid the night shirts on the stools beside each of their tubs. "There you are. Dry bed clothes. And by the time you wake, your own clothes should be dry."

"This is almost too good to be true," Sam exclaimed.

All of the hobbits expressed their gratitude.

-soon...

Dinner was excellent. Wisteria did indeed prove to be a fantastic cook. Even Sam had to admit that much. He and Wisteria chatted about recipes while Frodo and Duroger spoke of books they'd read. This left Merry and Pippin out of a lot of the conversation because they refused to talk to each other.

And of course as Wisteria was talking to Sam, she had her eyes on Merry. This was quickly getting under Pippin's skin, but he was still upset that Merry openly degraded him for his beliefs. He'd basically called him a senseless child... Okay, so he hadn't said that in so many words, but basically that was what he was getting at.

Merry hated to see Pippin so quiet. He would have to do something to break this silence and get them back on track again despite this whole faerie nonsense. A peace offering would be good. He looked at his plate, then at Pippin's nearly empty one. With a sigh, he leaned closer to his little cousin. "Want my mushrooms?" he whispered.

The young Took looked at Merry for a moment and then smiled. And just like that, all was forgiven.

It never took much to gain Pippin's favor again. At least it never took Merry much.

-later...

After the group of hobbits had their supper, they found that two guest rooms had been prepared for them. Wisteria showed Merry and Pippin to their guest room.

"This is where you'll be staying tonight," the lass told them, though she only seemed to be talking to Pippin. She set up a lamp for them. "Your friends won't be too far away and if you need anything during the night, Duroger will be more than happy to help you."

She WAS just talking to Pippin. It caused the young Took to furrow his brow a bit.

"Thank you, good Lady," Merry said with a smile. "And good night to you."

"Actually, Meriadoc," Wisteria added quickly. "I was hoping to show you around a bit, if you're not too tired, that is. I could show you my private chamber." The last part she said quietly.

Merry's eyes went wide.

"Actually," Pippin put in, "we're all pretty tired. We've been traveling all day. So please excuse us and do have a good night." He didn't wait for her reply; he simply closed the door ever so politely in her face.

Merry was still somewhat astounded by the invitation. "Talk about hospitality," he muttered.

Pippin sat on his bed and pretty much sulked, listening to the pattering of huge rain drops on the roof.

The Brandybuck grinned and hopped onto Pippin's bed on all fours. "She probably would have done anything we wanted. And she wasn't bad looking either. She was no angel like your lass in Long Cleeve, I'm sure, but she was pretty enough," he teased.

"'We'? She was talking about taking YOU to her bedroom," Pippin snorted, ignoring his cousin's statement about 'his lass'.

Merry crawled over and sat beside Pippin. "You're not jealous, are you?"

Pippin blushed deeply and turned away so Merry couldn't see his face. He couldn't be jealous, could he?

"I mean, you're already on your way to see a lass. You can't have all the lasses on this adventure, you know," Merry said.

Pippin looked at Merry, surprised. "I wasn't... I mean..."

"Admit it. You want all the lasses for yourself," Merry grinned. He began tickling the Took in the side and Pippin fell backwards, laughing, trying to keep Merry's hands away from him.

"I-I don't want-I don't...," Pippin said between giggles, still trying to fight against Merry. "Pl-please stop, Merry." He wiggled in an attempt to get away.

Merry laughed and straddled his little cousin to prevent his escape, then went on tickling him.

"Merry, st-stop," Pippin giggled wildly. "Stop or I might wet myself."

Merry giggled and stopped tickling Pippin.

Pippin could feel Merry trying to catch his breath just as he was. He looked up at his elder cousin's face and saw that it was slightly flushed from laughing. And there was something inside him telling him that Merry had been on top of him before on many different occasions, but something had recently changed about it. Like he was supposed to remember something that he didn't quite remember...

_ The young Took suddenly saw himself in the dark surrounded by fog and being rolled onto his back by his older cousin. Merry gently brushed his lips across Pippin's eyelids and he'd told Merry that it felt good for him to do that._

_ "What about like this?" Merry had asked, drunkenly sliding his hands up and down Pippin's chest and stomach._

_ Pippin had nodded. "That feels good too."_

_ "How about this then?" Merry had questioned, lying on top of him and planting kisses on the side of his neck._

_ "Mm hm."_

_ "And this?" The elder hobbit's hand had slipped lower and began playing at the laces on Pippin's trousers..._

The Took gasped and then looked up at his cousin, who was looking down at him strangely.

"What's wrong, Pip?" Merry asked.

Pippin struggled from underneath Merry. "Nothing's wrong. I just...remembered something."

-in the meantime...

Duroger lit the lamp in the guest room Frodo and Sam would share and then turned to them. "I do hope you'll enjoy your stay here tonight. The storm outside is so frightful, I would have hated to see you lads go off in it again."

"It is a frightful storm," Sam agreed.

"Thank you so much for letting us stay here. You and your sister have been more than generous," Frodo said. He started fumbling around in his pockets for his money pouch. "How much do we owe?"

"I beg your pardon, sir, but I don't normally handle such transactions in this room. I take care of that at the front desk," Duroger told him.

Frodo nodded shyly. "Of course." Turning to Sam, he said, "I'll be back shortly, Sam. I must see to paying our gracious host and hostess."

Sam blinked and gave a nod. Watching Frodo and Duroger leave, he went about turning back his and then Frodo's bed covers to settle in for some much needed rest.

Duroger lead Frodo down the hall, looking sideways at him.

"Really, we thank you for having us here. It seems we would have been lost without such wonderful and willing hosts," Frodo said.

"Well, it's as they say, Mr. Baggins, 'Keep all good company'," Duroger replied. He stopped beside a door on their way to the front of the bath house. "I know you're tired, but won't you have a glass of wine with me?"

Frodo looked confused. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt."

-elsewhere...

"Do you remember anything about our night in Bywater?" Pippin asked Merry.

Merry knew to what Pippin was referring. He had been trying to remember what exactly had happened during that drunken night. Of course, they had something much more recent to discuss, but he would play along with his cousin until he figured out where he was going with this.

"I remember having the finest ale I've ever had," Merry sighed.

"No, after that."

"If this is about me calling you a lovesick fool, you can forget it. I'm not taking it back."

"No, after THAT."

"Drinking that horrid stuff that Sam made for our hangovers?"

"No, BEFORE that."

"Then no."

"You've got to remember something."

"Why? What? Do you remember something?"

Pippin looked away. "Not all of it."

"All of what?"

The Took shook his head. "Nothing. It was probably just a dream or something. We got pretty drunk." He blushed at the thought that he would even have a dream like that, but it would be worse if it had been real.

"WHAT was probably just a dream?" Merry asked.

Pippin shook his head. "Nothing."

"Don't say nothing. With the way you're badgering me about it, you'd think someone died," Merry said. He turned and sat cross-legged so he could face his younger cousin. "So what did you dream?"

"Well," Pippin began. "I guess you could say it was kind of like yesterday. You know..."

Merry laughed a little. "I don't think ANY day was like yesterday, Pip."

Pippin began getting frustrated. "You know what I'm talking about. When we kissed..."

Well, when he came straight out and said it like that, Merry couldn't deny it. "What about it?"

Pippin frowned. He wanted to remember everything that had happened between them on that drunken night. He wanted to tell Merry how much he enjoyed their kiss in the woods. He actually wanted to do it again right now, but what he really wanted even more than that was to know what it meant for them.

There came a knock on their door just in time to save Pippin from answering that particular question at that particular moment. "I'll get it." Unfortunately, when he opened the door, Wisteria was standing there. Before he had a chance to set his face in a frown, he noticed that she was carrying a few cakes and some tea on a tray.

"Hullo again. I saw that your lamp was still lit, so I thought you'd like a little snack. There's nothing better for getting rest than a full stomach," Wisteria told them.

Pippin smiled. Maybe he'd misjudged this sweet woman. "Thank you."

The lass walked into the room and once Pippin took his seat on the bed, she began serving them their snacks. "For you, Master Peregrin. And for you, Master Meriadoc."

Merry smiled, accepting his share of the food, and Pippin silently did the same.

"I'll just leave you two to it, then. Enjoy," Wisteria said. She showed herself out of the room and pulled the door closed behind her.

"Ah! Nothing better than going to sleep on a full stomach," Pippin said. He took a big bite of his cake.

Merry just held his cake and tea in hand and looked at Pippin.

"Wot?" Pippin asked with a mouth full of food.

-meanwhile...

There was a knock on Sam and Frodo's guest room door.

"You don't have to knock, Mr. Frodo. This is your room too, you know," Sam said (to himself really). "Come in."

The door opened back slowly and Wisteria stepped in holding a plate with a couple of cakes and a cup of tea. "Hullo, Master Samwise."

Sam stood from his seat on the bed, startled. "Uh, hullo, Ms. Lightfoot." He looked at the plate she held and smiled. "Is that for me?"

"Aye, it is. There's nothing better for getting rest than a full stomach," Wisteria said. She handed over the plate and curtsied a little, then made her way out of the room.

Sam held the plate and took in the aroma. Something about the smell seemed very familiar. Maybe there was some secret ingredient in it that he knew about. But he didn't feel like thinking about what it was right now. What he felt like doing was gobbling up this wonderful smelling dessert. And gobble he did.

-another room...

Frodo sipped his glass of wine. It was strong, but smooth and it made him think of lazy summer afternoons and sunny showers and Sam weeding the garden on those late evenings when he'd have to force the lad to go home. He loved those days because before Sam would leave he would always offer his gardener a drink and maybe a piece of fruit to wane his appetite before a Gamgee supper. Or sometimes he would offer for Samwise to stay for supper and for once he was allowed to do something for his best friend.

And then he thought of Rosie. She was beautiful and womanly. Sam was definitely in love with her. Who wouldn't be? Eventually Sam would marry his Rose and have a family with her. Then he wouldn't have time to stay for supper with the master of Bag End. As Frodo thought that, his heart began to ache.

As if to get Frodo's mind off of his friend, Duroger cleared his throat. "Baggins, is it?"

Frodo blinked and looked at his host. "Yes. Frodo Baggins."

"So you're from Hobbiton, then. What brings you and your friends all this way?" Duroger asked, sipping his wine. He swirled the beverage around in his glass and looked at Frodo for a long while.

And for a long while Frodo didn't answer. No answer would come to his mind. He seemed lost in the almost clear eyes of his kind host. "We are on our way to Long Cleeve. We have faced some strange happenings along the way, but it's nothing that will stop us from heading there."

Duroger nodded. "And what business do you have in Long Cleeve? That's a far journey for any hobbit on foot."

Frodo nodded. "You're right. Perhaps I should look into renting a carriage..." He thought about why they were going to Long Cleeve and smiled. "My little cousin has a crush on a lass in Long Cleeve so we're going to see what's become of her."

"Really? I never would have guessed that young Peregrin fancied a lass. Well, considering the way he has been acting with Meriadoc lately."

Frodo looked confused. "What do you mean?"

End Chapter 7

a/n: Please review! :D


	8. A Wild Goose Chase

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: Sam and Pippin have lost their friends...or their minds.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: Thanks for the reviews. If you thought some of the other chapters were weird, this one's pretty haywire.

Chapter 8: A Wild Goose Chase

Pippin was giggling at first, but Merry saw his eyelids becoming heavy. "Weren't we talking about something before dessert got here?" Merry asked, hoping to jog Pippin's memory.

Pippin leaned on Merry and put a lazy arm around him. "I don't know. I can't remember back that far," he giggled. He took one deep breath and Merry could tell that he would be sleeping within a matter of minutes.

"Pippin, what's the matter with you?" Merry asked.

"What's the matter with YOU? You're all serious all of a sudden. You used to have an imagination. You used to believe in things. You didn't have to always see it to believe it. Something's happened to you, Merry," Pippin murmured. Those were his last words before he fell asleep on Merry's shoulder.

Merry shook his head. "Oh, Pip. I just grew up, that's all."

He carefully maneuvered the young Took so that he could slide him under his covers. This was somewhat disappointing; they were just getting somewhere. Then again, where was he expecting their little chat to lead? Pippin WAS, after all, making this long journey across the Northfarthing to meet a lass he hadn't seen in years. And knowing Merry's luck, she'd be exactly what Pippin hoped she'd be. And then where would that leave poor Merry? Alone and fantasizing about kisses that ended much too soon.

What did he want from those kisses anyway?

He looked down at his slumbering cousin and sighed. They'd been together all their lives. Maybe he'd become too attached.

"Looks like he's sleeping well," a voice said from behind him.

Merry quickly turned around to see Wisteria standing there with her hands planted on her ample hips.

"Yes, well, I didn't think he was that tired, but I guess he was," Merry muttered.

"But you are not," Wisteria said. It was hard to tell whether it was a question or simply a statement. Either way she started making her way into the room with a maddening sway to her hips.

"No. No, I'm not," Merry finally thought to say. "Surprisingly I'm wide awake."

Wisteria gave a slow nod and a smile. "Then maybe you should reconsider my earlier invitation." She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Merry just looked at her for a while. What was keeping him from enjoying the company of this lovely lass before him? He was wide awake and without his best friend. He was practically begging for attention. But then he looked at her almost clear eyes and frowned. No hobbit's eyes were like that. Not even Frodo's. And Frodo was the strangest hobbit he knew. Something wasn't right here.

Pippin came to mind and he looked at the sleeping hobbit tucked comfortably in his bed.

"He's not going anywhere," Wisteria suddenly said in Merry's ear.

'When did she move from the door?' Merry thought, shaken from her sudden appearance so close to him. He felt her place her arm in his and the not-so-subtle way she pressed her small, but full breasts against his arm.

"This way," Wisteria beckoned. She pulled him along down the hall and soon they were at her bedroom door. "Come in, Master Meriadoc. We have lots to talk about."

-elsewhere...

Sam took his last sip of tea and set his plate aside. He felt different-wrong. An overwhelming urge to fall asleep attacked him. Every blink of his eyes was bound to be his last and something in the room felt different. He had to blink rapidly several times to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him when he saw a goose fly in through his window. Had he opened the window? He watched the bird waddle over to the bedroom door, then it looked at him.

'Did that bird just nod at me?' Sam thought. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the goose again. It must have been real because it was still standing there.

"Let me out."

Sam shook his head and looked at the goose again. "Did that thing just talk?" he muttered to himself.

"Yes, I said 'let me out'," the thing repeated.

The hobbit was having a hard time sitting upright. He was beginning to sway even in a sitting position and closing his eyes to pass out was beginning to sound better and better.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on me, Hobbit," the goose said. "Come open the door first."

Sam yawned and without a second thought he walked over to the door and opened it just as he began to lose consciousness.

-during that time...

"I never would have guessed that young Peregrin fancied a lass. Well, considering the way he has been acting with Meriadoc lately," Duroger said.

Frodo looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Duroger smirked. "Well, of course you are aware that they are close."

Leaning back in his chair, Frodo asked, "How would you know that? They've barely said a word to each other today."

Duroger sighed. "Master Frodo, surely you suspect something unusual about those two. You can almost feel it. The way you can feel how close you and Master Samwise are."

This brought a blush to Frodo's cheeks. What exactly did this hobbit-this complete stranger-know? "Excuse me?"

"Your young cousins are quite a close pair indeed," Duroger went on. "Kisses... Very involved kisses. Not unlike the ones you and Master Samwise shared." He drank some more of his wine and looked at his guest over the rim of his glass.

Frodo blushed deeper, put down his glass and stood. How could this stranger know about that? "I won't have you saying such things about me or my friends." He hastily pulled out his money pouch, poured out some coins on the coffee table (much more than the stay was worth), and put his pouch back into his night shirt pocket. "Good night, sir." He turned to leave, but he saw that Duroger was already standing in front of the door. The Baggins was startled speechless.

"And a good night to you, Master Frodo Baggins," Duroger said with a pleasant smile, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

Frodo started backing away from him. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't be completely weirded out right now."

"Well...," Duroger began. "To tell you the truth, you should probably be terrified." He waved his hand in front of Frodo's eyes.

Suddenly images of his time in Bindbale Wood started flashing in his mind's eye. The light that had temporarily kept them warm, the smell of summer, the feeling of bliss all came back to him now. Then he remembered a strange voice.

"Do you remember anything?" Duroger asked.

The strange voice he recalled matched his host's voice exactly. And then he remembered the face as plain as day. It was the same as the face before him. Frodo was all but paralyzed where he stood.

"Ah, that's a look of recognition. Astounded recognition, but recognition nonetheless," Duroger said. He walked over to the coffee table and picked up the coins Frodo had put there. "You can have these back."

The master of Bag End neither moved nor responded.

Duroger walked over to Frodo and took his hand, placing the coins in it.

"Wh-who are you?" Frodo asked once he regained some of his senses.

"I am Duroger Lightfoot. The one who's provided you with some comfort during this storm, for it will be a long one. At least for you and your friends."

Frodo felt a sudden bout of drowse overcome him. He couldn't fall asleep now. Not when he was in this room with this strange hobbit. There were questions that needed answering. "What I should have asked was WHAT are you? Because you are no hobbit."

"But Master Frodo, you already know what I am," Duroger told him. "And if you don't, I suggest you ask your little cousin Peregrin."

There was no time for the Baggins to formulate a comment before he was fast asleep.

-soon...

The little bedroom was only furnished with a bed and a nightstand. Merry raised an eyebrow. He was sure that the two owners of this quaint little bath house would have bigger rooms to call their own. Or at least they'd have more furniture.

"Please have a seat, Master Meriadoc," Wisteria said.

Merry looked at the bed, then at Wisteria. "A seat?"

Wisteria walked over and sat on the bed, then rubbed the space beside her. "A seat."

Merry shrugged and sat where he stood-on the floor near the door.

The lass laughed. "You're supposed to sit by me, silly. Don't you have any experience with lasses at all?"

This statement upset Merry for some reason, causing him to frown. "Of course I do."

"Then come sit beside me," Wisteria chirped, beckoning him toward her.

"I think this seat will do just fine, thank you," Merry replied. "Now, why did you bring me here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "I know all about the Brandybucks, Master Meriadoc, but none are quite as willing to stir up trouble as you."

"I haven't so much lately," Merry sighed. "What's your point?"

"Well, the Brandybucks are a strong clan," Wisteria went on. She stood and walked over to the seated lad. "Which causes me to question your relationship with Master Peregrin." She took his hand and helped him to his feet.

"What?" Merry asked. "What's that got to do with anything?"

Wisteria led the Brandybuck to her bed and sat him down. Then she stood in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Everything, of course. Strong clans have to preserve their family names by reproducing. If you and your cousin keep kissing each other the way you have been, something serious may become of it."

Merry stared at Wisteria, completely amazed that she would know about that. It was something he didn't even want to face himself. How could she know about it?

"By the way your face just changed colors, I assume you know what I'm talking about," Wisteria went on. "Okay, so the first time you were drunk, but what made it happen a second time? Tell me that."

'Alright, this whole situation is getting creepy,' he thought. "How do-?"

She interrupted him by placing a finger to his lips. "That wasn't a fair question. I shouldn't have asked that. What I should have asked was this: Do you find lasses as desirable as you find your Peregrin?"

Merry wasn't sure what to say. Should he deny his obvious attraction to the younger hobbit or should he simply answer the question? 'What's my answer for a question like that anyway? Lasses are lovely creatures, but desirable?' he thought. His little cousin came to mind and he frowned. He hadn't REALLY thought of Pippin as being desirable, but now that she brought it up...

"Perhaps you just need to sleep on it," Wisteria suggested.

And after feeling wide awake that whole time, Merry fell into a deep coma-like sleep.

-meanwhile...

"Merry..."

Pippin awoke with a start at the name and wondered had it been he who said it. He must have been dreaming when he said Merry's name, but he didn't remember anything. He wasn't even sure if he'd dreamed at all. He looked around the room, but all he could see was blackness. Merry must have put out the lamp. Thank goodness or they both may have caught fire during the night.

Pippin stared at the ceiling as if he would be able to see the huge raindrops falling on the roof. He loved the sound of rain at night. Eventually he would drift back off to sleep from the comforting sound...

"Merry..."

Pippin's eyes popped open. He was sure that he hadn't said it this time. He stumbled in the dark over to the lamp and lit it, but when he looked at Merry's bed it was empty. "Merry?" The bed hadn't even been touched and the old clock on the wall read 1:30.

"Merry..."

There it was again. Someone was out in the hall saying Merry's name over and over again. But where could Merry be?

The young Took grabbed the lamp and walked over to the door. 'Maybe Merry's mad at me and decided to stay with Frodo and Sam,' he thought. He and Merry were on good terms now, though. There was no reason for him to be angry.

But even if he was, why was he hearing Merry's name out in the hall?

Pippin slowly opened the door and as soon as he stuck the lamp out into the hallway, he saw something small and white disappear around the corner. Pippin was much too worried to be scared. He quickly made his way to the opposite end of the hall and tapped on Sam and Frodo's door. After hearing a lot of rummaging around behind said door, Pippin began regretting having woke the two, but he had to know if Merry was there.

Soon a lamp was lit and after a moment of silence, Sam came to the door. "Mr. Pippin?"

Pippin averted his eyes. "Uh, hullo Sam." He glanced inside the room. "I'm sorry to wake you, but I thought Merry might be in there with you. His bed hasn't been touched."

Sam sleepily shook his head. "Mr. Frodo's neither."

Pippin frowned. "Maybe they went into town."

The Gamgee looked at the clock on his wall and shook his head. "At this hour? I don't think so, Mr. Pippin."

"Frodo...," a voice said from the hall.

Pippin held his lamp out to light the hall. "Who's there?"

"Merry," the voice said.

"You don't sound like Merry," Pippin said to whatever was speaking.

Sam looked confused. "What is it?" He took a peek out into the hallway and saw the same goose he was sure he had dreamed about earlier that night. "There it is! So it WAS real!"

Pippin held his light in the direction Sam was looking. "A duck!"

"That's a goose, Mr. Pippin."

"A goose!" Pippin corrected.

"Merry. Frodo," the little winged creature said. It took off running down the hall.

"Maybe it's trying to lead us to Merry and Frodo. Come on. Let's follow it," Pippin said.

Sam frowned. "It doesn't bother you that this thing is TALKING?"

It was too late. Pippin was already dashing down the hall after the goose. So Sam had no choice but to follow, especially if he wanted to see Frodo again.

-some time passed...

The two hobbits had chased this stupid talking goose all over the bath house at least three times before it lead them outside to a secluded green house behind the bath house that was overrun with weeds and wild growth. If Sam weren't so sure that he was awake, he would have sworn that this place was some sort of nightmare. This is where the thing stopped and perched atop a little stone figurine of a dancing hobbit lass.

Pippin and Sam had to catch their breath before either of them could speak.

"Where are Mr. Frodo and Mr. Merry?" Sam asked the bird.

Pippin simply stared at the thing, half expecting it not to respond.

The goose shook its head. "I do not know."

Both hobbits frowned. "You don't know?" Pippin asked. "We thought you were taking us to them."

Sam couldn't believe that they were standing here talking to a goose, yet he'd spoken to it earlier that night.

"I brought you here because there is something I have to tell you. Something very important. Something that could help you with the problems you've been having," the goose said.

"Wait, wait, wait," Pippin said. "You're a bird and you're talking-"

"Thank you," Sam interrupted. Pippin was finally beginning to see the insanity that this was.

The goose looked at the two angrily. "Understand this now. There isn't much time. The reason I had you two follow me all over the place is because those two can track down anyone they want. Running around mixes up their senses, but only for a short time. And that time is getting shorter."

Sam blinked.

Pippin looked confused.

The goose sighed. "Listen, the two hobbits you are staying with are not who you think they are."

"I'm not sure WHO to think they are. We don't even know them," Pippin put in.

The goose let out a huff. "Do you want to help your friends or not? Because time is running out."

The younger hobbit's lips sealed shut.

"These things that you've found yourselves dealing with are jokers, pranksters. Above all else they like to have fun," the mysterious goose began.

Sam and Pippin looked at each other and Pippin grinned. "Sounds like me," he murmured as not to disturb the goose's explanation.

"And Mr. Merry," Sam added quietly.

"But interrupting their fun comes at a high cost. You see, these two are faeries-" the goose went on.

Sam looked surprised.

"I knew it," Pippin whispered.

"-shape shifters and conjurers of powerful magic. I have seen them do things you would not believe. Things from making objects disappear to causing natural disasters to transforming a man into a goose," the stranger told them.

"Is...is that what happened to you?" Pippin inquired, absently playing with one of his curls.

"Aye," the goose answered. "But this is not my tale, nor do I have time to tell it. I must warn you that you are under the faeries' spell. They will torment you for years to come, doing with you what they will until they grow bored of it and decide to move on to another place, but you will forever be tethered to them. You will all become their slaves as I have become."

Sam shook his head. "This is crazy. I don't understand. What are you telling us?"

The goose rolled his eyes. "Alright. I'll try to explain it another way. You've become the victims of two rogue faeries who torment others just for kicks. Is that simple enough for you?"

Pippin yawned.

Sam nodded. "That is about as simple as it gets, I suppose."

The goose nodded to Sam, then looked at Pippin. "You, little one, you said you knew this?"

Pippin rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Mm," was his only answer.

The yawning must have been contagious because Sam began yawning too.

The goose watched this chain reaction and gasped. "Oh, no. They must know you are here. You have to fight against the sleep fog."

"Fog? I don't see any fog," Pippin told him with another mighty yawn.

"It is their sleep fog. You will not see it," the goose said. "You must resist."

Sam was beginning to doze when he asked, "If those faeries are so wicked, why did they let us stay here?"

"They do with you what they will. This is all a game to them. Not even I understand all of it," the goose said.

But the answer fell on deaf ears. Both of the hobbits had fallen asleep.

End Chapter 8

a/n: Yet another strange chapter. Oh no! We just found out that the hobbits will become eternal slaves to the faeries who torment them! Now what are they gonna do?

a/n: Will there be another episode? Only you can make it happen! Dial 1-800-LeftOfWest and say, "Gimme some mo'!" Supply is limited! That's 1-800-LeftOfWest! Or you could just submit a review. ;D


	9. Living in the Past

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: The hobbits think back on their pasts.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: This is mostly a flashback chapter. I thought it would be fun to see a little bit of these characters' pasts.

Chapter 9: Living in the Past

Merry awoke from a very vivid dream. Unfortunately, this dream had all actually happened according to his slowly returning memory. The whole Green Dragon incident with his little cousin had not been as innocent as he previously thought. There had been touching along with those kisses. Touching in places he wasn't ready to think about at the time. Places that had obviously begun to stir during the dream.

He looked around the pitch black room he was in, but couldn't make out anything aside from the loud raindrops banging on the roof...

...that is, until a candle was suddenly lit and he found himself in the same room he'd fallen asleep in and with the same hobbit he'd fallen asleep in it with. The lass was standing at the foot of the bed with the candle in hand. He looked at the clock in this strange lass's room and it read 2:00am. He looked back at her and frowned.

"Ah, Master Meriadoc. Did you sleep well?" Wisteria asked. "Did you have pleasant dreams?" She looked farther down the bed and smiled. "It looks as though you've had pleasant dreams."

Merry looked at the tent in his covers and quickly sat up. "What do you want?"

Wisteria got on the bed and did her best to crawl closer to him, still holding the candle. "Well, I wanted you to answer my question. That's the reason I put you to sleep and that's the reason I dug up your drunken memory."

Merry slid backwards on the bed until his back was against the headboard. "What are you talking about? What did you do to me?"

"Just what I said. I didn't rape you if that's your concern," Wisteria said with a smirk. She continued her advance.

"That's not what I'm asking," Merry said. He was about to hop out of the bed, but he remembered his embarrassing problem, so he stayed seated. If that inconvenient stiffening would go away faster, he could escape this crazy lass.

"Well, if you want to be technical about it, you never even answered my question," Wisteria reminded him. She sat back on her heels and put her free hand on her hip. "Do you find lasses as desirable as you find your Peregrin?"

Once again, the answer to this simple question eluded Merry. He looked at the candle in Wisteria's hand, then at the door.

"It's just a yes or no question, Master Meriadoc. If it takes you this long to decide about your attractions, I'd hate to see you in any other aspect of your life."

Merry frowned. "Decide this!" He quickly removed the covers and kicked the candle out of Wisteria's hand. Some of the wax got on the hair on his foot, but he didn't' let that stop him from rolling off the bed and heading toward the door.

The candle hit one of the curtains on the other side of the room and it quickly caught fire. Merry laughed out loud when he turned around and saw Wisteria tearing down the curtain and trying desperately to stomp it out. The edge of her dress caught fire as well, causing the Brandybuck to laugh even louder.

Wisteria put out her dress and glared at Merry angrily.

"Uh oh!" Merry threw open the door and bumped into Duroger with an 'oof'.

Duroger looked at him for a moment, then looked in on his sister. "Trouble in the garden house. Let's go."

"Can't you see I'm a little busy here?" Wisteria asked as she was stomping out the last of the flames.

"We have to deal with this NOW," Duroger insisted.

Whatever they had to 'deal with' came just in time because who knows what would have happened to Merry if this hadn't come about. This lass was odd indeed. He started heading toward his and Pippin's guest room when curiosity got the best of him. He looked over his shoulder at the siblings as they hurried down the hall in the other direction.

The Brandybuck followed Duroger and Wisteria out of a back door and saw a dilapidated-looking green house with all kinds of overgrowth from what looked like decades of neglect.

The host and hostess stood outside the garden house door and both of them puckered up their lips and began blowing through a small crack on the side.

Merry raised an eyebrow and crept closer. 'What in the name of everything good are they doing?' he thought.

He heard an unfamiliar voice come from inside. "You have to fight against the sleep fog."

"Fog? I don't see any fog." That was Pippin! That was Pippin's voice he heard next. But what was he doing out here? Wasn't he supposed to be in bed?

"It is their sleep fog. You will not see it," the unfamiliar voice said. "You must resist."

"If those faeries are so wicked, why did they let us stay here?" And that was Sam's voice! But who could they be talking to? And what was this talk about faeries again?

"They do with you what they will. This is all a game to them. Not even I understand all of it," the stranger said.

After going around to the side of the garden house, Merry looked inside and to his surprise he saw Sam and Pippin falling to the floor and a goose looking at the door.

"I thought we told you to keep out of sight, you stupid bird," Wisteria scolded, walking into the garden house.

Merry's eyes were slowly but surely beginning to close, but he fought to listen in on what was going on.

"Someone has to put a stop to your shenanigans," the goose said.

The sleep that fogged Merry's mind momentarily dissipated. 'Did that bird just TALK?' he thought.

"We should have turned him into something more suitable," Duroger said with a grin. "Like a rodent."

"Rodent it is," Wisteria agreed.

Merry watched the goose transform into a mouse and his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

"Now, what about the hobbits? Should we take their memories?" Wisteria asked.

Duroger smirked. "No need. But I suppose we could scramble them a bit. It will make things more fun if they are not sure whether they are safe."

That was the last thing Merry heard before he fell sleep.

-in the morning...

Frodo awoke with a start. His memory of last night was a bit tattered, but he knew that the room he'd fallen asleep in was not the same room he awoke in now. What exactly had happened last night...?

He looked over at the bed beside him and saw Sam sleeping peacefully. His wonderful Sam who had been his only friend all these years (besides his cousins, that is). He remembered teasing Sam a bit when they first officially met. Frodo must have been in his tweens and Sam in his teens when he began the harassment...

-twenty years ago...

_ Frodo-age: 27- had moved in with his cousin Bilbo many years before and had long ago become quite restless. Restless because he was used to the constant clamor around Brandy Hall. There was always something to do and always someone around to do it with. Not here in Bag End. No. This little smial (though much too large for one person, or one family for that matter) was always quiet. Frodo found himself outside more often than not._

_ Sam-age: 15-had been working as his father's understudy for some time, but he mainly tended to their own lawn and garden. He'd been raised to be respectful and polite and was taught to enjoy the simple things in life. He hadn't had much exposure to anyone who wasn't originally from Hobbiton._

_ But something new was on the horizon for both hobbits._

_ Frodo awoke early one morning to the sound of sobbing not far from his window. Normally it wasn't that easy for Frodo to be disturbed out of sleep, but today his restlessness has reached its peak. He got out of bed and went over to his window to see what was going on. When he saw a young lad leaning against the smial crying, he had to look twice. "Hey," he said slowly as not to startle the lad._

_ The golden-haired lad looked up, eyes huge in surprise, not to mention filled with tears. He didn't say anything; he only stared at Frodo._

_ "What are you doing here?"_

_ The youngster looked as though he didn't understand._

_ "What are you doing in my yard?"_

_ The lad sniffled and lowered his head._

_ Frodo frowned. "You'd best get back home, kid."_

_ "But I can't. I gotta finish the garden today," the lad finally said._

_ Frodo looked confused. "The garden? But old Gaffer Gamgee works our garden. Who are you supposed to be?"_

_ The lad wiped at his face with his dingy sleeves and looked up at Frodo. "I'm Samwise Gamgee."_

_ "Samwise. Right. Bilbo said something about the Gaffer's youngest son working with him," Frodo said. He looked around, then at the young Gamgee. "What's your problem?"_

_ "There's a dead pumpkin in the garden," Sam told him._

_ Frodo laughed out loud and Sam was hurt. "You're serious? You're crying because of that?"_

_ "But my Gaffer'll think I killed it," Sam wept._

_ "Oh, come now. You're, what? Thirteen?"_

_ "Fifteen, sir."_

_ Frodo was a little astounded at being called sir. The help around Brandy Hall always referred to him as a child (which he was), but this was new to him. It made him feel more mature. Much more mature than a tween should feel. "Fifteen then. You shouldn't cry over such a small thing. If you're afraid you'll get into trouble, then I'll help you get rid of it."_

_ The little lad's eyes lit up. "You will?"_

_ "Sure. As long as you don't go around crying about every little thing," Frodo said. He climbed out of the window._

_ Sam just looked at Frodo, completely befuddled at first._

_ Frodo saw his expression and grinned. "What's the matter now? Haven't you ever seen a lad in his nightshirt before?" He gestured for Sam to lead the way to the dead pumpkin._

_ "Well, it ain't decent for a gentlehobbit to run around in such things," Sam said._

_ Frodo laughed. "It 'ain't', hm? Someone should teach you to speak properly."_

_ Sam blushed and lowered his head, leading Frodo to the garden. "I ain't never been much for proper talk, sir."_

_ "I can tell," Frodo said simply._

_ There was a long and awkward silence before Sam decided to speak again. "Uh, so you must be Mr. Bilbo's cousin from the Eastfarthing."_

_ The elder hobbit nodded. "Frodo Baggins is my name. And though this isn't my first stay in Hobbiton, this IS my first extended experience. It's even more boring here now than it was then. Isn't there ANYTHING to do here?"_

_ "Well, we have festivals, fairs and plenty of birthdays."_

_ "Every place has those."_

_ "Oh..., well, other than that the only thing we have left is going over to Bywater for ale," Sam added._

_ "Hm," Frodo said, stopping abruptly in the pumpkin patch. He looked down. "Is this it?"_

_ Sam hadn't even been paying attention to where he was going. His focus had been on Frodo the whole time. "Aye. That's it," he murmured, nearly breaking into tears again._

_ "Whoa, now. Calm down. This is easy. Besides, it's not your fault. You're a gardener; you should know that," Frodo said. "You do know that, right?"_

_ "Course I know that," Sam said, looking away and nearly bursting into tears again._

_ Frodo giggled. "Goodness, Samwise. You are a rather sensitive thing, aren't you? You should learn to lighten up." He bent down and tried to pick up the dead pumpkin, but was struggling, for it was rather large._

_ Sam hurried over and took the matter into his own hands, easily lifting the dead fruit. "Let me, sir."_

_ Frodo was a little amazed at the smaller boy's strength. "A-alright, then." He lost his nerve a little, seeing how this smaller, yet much brawnier lad could most likely toss him over the hill if he so chose. "Follow me."_

_ Sam followed Frodo down the Row a ways until they reached the mill. "What are we doing here?"_

_ "Getting rid of the evidence, silly. All you have to do is drop that thing off in a place your Gaffer wouldn't look for it," Frodo told him. "Besides, he wouldn't notice if one little pumpkin's missing from the garden."_

_ "I don't know, sir. He just might."_

_ Frodo put his arm around Sam's shoulders, causing his new little friend to flinch a bit. The elder hobbit grinned. "Sam... May I call you Sam?"_

_ Sam nodded, looking quite nervous._

_ "Sam, you are going to have to learn to relax. If you don't, you'll never have children," Frodo told him. He began walking away. "Ditch the trash and let's go back to Bag End."_

_ Sam had blushed at the thought of having children, but when he noticed that Frodo was leaving, he quickly dropped the pumpkin and ran after him._

-back to present day, in another room...

For some reason Pippin remembered everything as if it had actually happened. But he couldn't be too sure considering that, according to Merry, his imagination was always running wild. It was just crazy enough that no one would believe him anyway. He looked over at the lump on the other bed that represented Merry and frowned. He DEFINITELY wouldn't believe all that.

The young Took felt as if he and Merry were growing apart somehow. Even though they had recently made amends, he didn't feel as close to Merry as he used to be. The two of them had always been the perfect pair. They were the envy of Tooks and Brandybucks everywhere. They would get into trouble just for the thrill of it. Just because it was something to do...

-a couple of months ago...

_ He knew it was wrong, but then again, everything he did was wrong. No fun in doing the right thing all the time, eh? Of course, it wasn't his idea in the first place. It was Merry who'd talked him into it, though no persuasion was necessary. Never has been._

_ "What we'll do is sneak into the Goodbody farm and set all the hogs loose," Merry had said to him with a wide grin on his face._

_ He couldn't say no to that. It was Brandybuck trouble-making at its finest._

_ And so, there they were. Creeping around outside the pig pen, searching for the latch. They'd even split up to make the job easier._

_ "Merry!" Pippin called as quietly as he could. He waved to his cousin to come over. "I found it."_

_ "Good work, Pip. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces once they find out that all their pigs are roaming free," Merry giggled. He removed the pin from the latch and tried to pull back the fencing, but it wouldn't budge. "Help me open it."_

_ Pippin grabbed the pole Merry was pulling and gave it a tug along with him. The thing still wouldn't move. It was like it had been there in that same position for centuries. "It's not working," the younger hobbit pointed out, still pulling with all his might._

_ Merry frowned and studied the fencing a bit. "Oh!"_

_ Before Pippin could ask what his cousin was Oh-ing about, he gave the fencing another yank; it suddenly flew open and the Took went tumbling backwards. He looked up to see Merry holding a second pin in hand._

_ "It was latched on the bottom too," Merry said, trying not to laugh at Pippin._

_ "Not funny," Pippin told him as he lay there flat on his back. This was just great. Not only was his cousin laughing at him, but their plan seemed to have a bit of a hitch. The fencing was now wide open, but the hogs were still standing there._

_ "What are they waiting for?" Merry asked, referring to the living bacon before him. He put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot impatiently._

_ Pippin remained seated on the ground, not quite knowing what to do. It had been such a fun plan and now it wasn't working. He looked up at Merry, who was now offering his hand to help the Took to his feet._

_ As Merry pulled his cousin up, he said, "We're going to have to scare them. Come on. And follow my lead."_

_ The two young gentlehobbits entered the walking sausage domain slowly, quietly. Pippin wasn't sure what Merry had planned to get these pigs in motion, but he didn't like being inside there with the things. They were rather big, after all, and surely weighed much more than he did. One wrong move and one of these things could fall on him and crush him._

_ The Brandybuck suddenly started yelling and running around the pen, flailing his arms about madly. And of course, Pippin couldn't let his dear cousin look like a fool, so he joined in. Porkers squealed loudly and began running around as well. Soon all of the hogs were free, just like Merry wanted. He looked quite proud of himself until they heard a shriek from the smial not far away. It seemed the daughter, Rowan Goodbody had spotted the pigs being set loose._

_ "We'd better get lost," Merry giggled wildly._

_ Pippin grinned at his older cousin and then they both took off running at full speed down the lane._

-presently, another place...

Sam sat bolt upright. "Frodo!" He didn't remember going back to the guest room last night. And he didn't remember Frodo being in the room with him either.

Frodo was just sitting in his bed looking at Sam strangely. "What's wrong?"

"Mr. Frodo, we need to talk," Sam said.

Suddenly there was a knock on their door and Sam's eyes shot over to it.

"I'll get it," Frodo said, about to crawl out of bed.

"No, sir. I'll get it," Sam told him. He quickly hopped out of bed and opened the door. Sam went wide-eyed. "H-hullo."

Duroger was standing there with an arm full of their clothes. "Good morning." He offered Sam the clothes. "Wisteria washed these and now they are fit to be worn again."

Sam just looked confused.

Frodo was on his feet and made his way over to the door so he could stand next to Sam. "Thank you, Mr. Lightfoot." He frowned when he thought about the things this hobbit said last night, though he couldn't be too sure he'd said them at all. Duroger was standing here before them as if nothing strange happened at all last night. Maybe it WAS all just a crazy dream.

Duroger smiled warmly and handed Sam their clothes. "Breakfast is served and your friends are waiting for you." He nodded to them and made his exit.

Sam looked at his master. "Mr. Frodo, something here ain't right."

Frodo put his hands on his hips and thought for a while. "I'm afraid I have to agree with you on that one, Sam." He took his clothes from Sam and spread them out on his bed. With his back to Sam, he began taking off his night shirt. "What has been going on here? I remember things, but they don't add up. Nothing makes sense."

The Gamgee blushed as he watched Frodo get undressed. "I-I don't really know what's been happening, sir. I think I've been having nightmares, but they all seem so real." There was something so very fascinating about that little body that he couldn't take his eyes away.

"Well, mine aren't really nightmares as much as they seem like eerie dreams," Frodo said. He looked over his shoulder at Sam and noticed that the gardener was staring at him. "Are you watching me get dressed?" he asked with a blush and a chuckle.

Sam quickly turned his back to the Master of Bag End. "No, sir!" He quickly, but shyly began pulling on his own clothes.

Frodo looked at the ceiling and went on getting dressed. "I wonder what Pippin and Merry think about all this strangeness."

-elsewhere...

There was a sudden knock on the door and Merry sat bolt upright, looking around as if he expected to see a ghost.

Pippin just looked at him.

Merry looked at Pippin out of the corner of his eye. "Who's there?"

"Wisteria," the lovely voice all but sang through the door.

Merry sighed and looked at the ceiling, then back at his cousin. "We gotta get out of this place," he whispered.

Pippin looked confused. "What?"

"We have to get out of here NOW," Merry whispered, hurriedly springing out of bed.

"Merry, what are you-?" Pippin began as Merry grabbed him by his nightshirt and pulled him out of bed.

The insane Brandybuck looked around in desperate search of something. "Window." He pointed, then pushed Pippin over toward it.

"Merry, you're not making any sense," Pippin said.

"Are you decent?" Wisteria asked through the door.

Merry frowned at the door, then looked Pippin in the eyes. "Listen, I'm sorry and you were right. You've been right all along. But we can't talk about that right now." He threw open the window.

"Right? Right about what? Merry-"

Just as Merry was about to try to push Pippin out of the window, the guest room door opened and Wisteria was standing there looking at them strangely. "Excuse me for the intrusion, but breakfast is served." She was holding their clothes in her arms. "These are clean and dry. You can put them on and come on to the dining room. Your friends are waiting."

Pippin smiled. "Mm. Breakfast."

Merry watched, confused as Wisteria lay their clothes in an empty chair and then made her exit. Wasn't last night real? Didn't he just hear that those two were evil maniac faeries? What in The Shire was going on here?

He watched Pippin bounce over to his clothes and frowned. "Pip."

The Took spinned around to face his cousin. "Yeah?"

"I don't think we should eat anything they feed us. We have to leave. We have to get Frodo and Sam," Merry said.

"But Frodo and Sam are already waiting for us. At least that's what she said," Pippin told him. "Merry, you're acting weird. What's wrong with you?"

"Breakfast is getting cold, gentlehobbits," Wisteria called through the door.

Merry sighed and started getting dressed. Maybe he HAD only dreamed it all.

"Merry," Pippin said, placing a hand on his cousin's hip.

The elder hobbit looked at him.

"What's going through your head this morning?" Pippin asked. "You don't want to eat and you're trying to jump out of windows."

"I've probably been hallucinating," Merry theorized, shaking his head. "Bad dreams or something. Let's just make sure Sam and Frodo are alright." He looked at Pippin's hand on his hip. "You should get dressed."

-later...

Breakfast looked delicious, but the four guests could only look at it. By now they were all getting a bad feeling about this place and their guests.

Wisteria and Duroger were at either end of the table eating peacefully.

"Can you believe it's raining even harder now than it was yesterday?" Wisteria asked her brother as she munched on a piece of bacon.

"At this rate all of Oatbarton will be flooded," Duroger said. He looked at his guests. "I, personally, wouldn't recommend traveling in these conditions. This storm is bound to only last for one more day. Why don't you fellows stay here with us until this thing blows over?"

Merry and Pippin looked at each other and Sam looked as though he wanted to scream. But Frodo was the one who answered. "We really must be moving on. As a matter of fact, we should have begun our day's journey as early as possible."

"In this storm?" Wisteria asked. "Surely you don't think it wise to trek through the rain and mud like this?"

"Frodo's right," Merry finally chimed in. This was his opportunity to get them out of here. "We should really be going now."

"Believe me, your hospitality has been greatly appreciated," Frodo added. He stood.

The other visitors followed suit.

"But you haven't eaten anything. You can't begin a long journey without something in your stomachs," Wisteria said.

Duroger had put his fork down and seemed to be in thought.

Pippin grinned and was about to take a seat again, but Merry stopped him.

"Thank you so very much for everything you've done for us, but we have very important matters to attend to," Merry told them.

"But this is madness," Wisteria said. "You mustn't-"

Duroger held up his hand. "Wisteria, if our guests feel that they should leave then we shouldn't stop them." He looked at the other hobbits and gave a smile. "It's been a pleasure having you here with us, good gentlehobbits. And I wish you the best on your travels." He walked over to Frodo and held out his hand for a shake.

Frodo looked at it for a second before shaking it. "Thank you again. And I'm sorry that we couldn't have stayed longer, but we have deadlines."

Wisteria stood and silently curtsied to the travelers. She gave Merry one last look.

Merry didn't notice, but Pippin did. He frowned.

Duroger escorted the hobbits to the door, but after the other three went out, he stopped Frodo for a moment. "On your way back home, you should come and see us again."

Frodo frowned. "Oh, we'll be taking another route home. So, unfortunately this will be our last meeting."

"I see," Duroger said. "Farewell, then, Mr. Baggins."

End Chapter 9

a/n: Okay, so this wasn't the best chapter. I just needed time to slow things down before they pick back up again. Trouble is on the horizon for our four heroes. Please review and stay tuned.


	10. Still a Ways Away

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: Out of the frying pan...into the fire.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: Thank you so much to the people who review this story. Those wonderful reviews are what keep me writing. And the only way I'll know if that's a bad thing or a good thing is if readers send me their opinions. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Chapter 10: Still a Ways Away

The rain was indeed harder, so it did very little good to have their clothes clean and dry. Within the first few steps from the bath house door, their clothes were soaked again and Sam's curls were in his eyes before his knew it. He looked back and when he saw that Frodo was still standing at the door talking to Duroger, he frowned. Why would his master even talk to that fellow when none of them even wanted to stick around?

"But I'm hungry," Pippin said to Merry as they walked on ahead. The younger hobbit was clinging to the elder hobbit's cloak.

Those two obviously hadn't noticed that Frodo had stopped, but Sam had. The gardener pushed his wet curls out of his eyes so he could make sure that this stranger wasn't making any false moves. He wasn't quite sure why he was so suspicious of those siblings who had been nice enough to let them stay in their bath house, but his Gaffer had always told him that it was a bad idea to second guess a gut feeling.

Frodo made his way to the others with his cloak pulled tightly around him. "We'd better get to a shop so we can get some supplies."

"And food. I'm starving," Pippin whined with his hand on his tummy.

"Maybe you'd like to go back with those weirdos and have some breakfast with them," Merry said.

Pippin shook his head quickly.

"Then quit complaining. We're all hungry," Merry told him.

Frodo put his hand on Merry's shoulder. "Take it easy on him, Merry." He looked at Sam. "As soon as we get a chance, we're going to have a big second breakfast, right Sam?"

Sam gave a nod. "Of course, Mr. Frodo." He frowned as he tried his best to look ahead, but the rain was too heavy to make out anything that might lie ahead. "We wouldn't be able to see a shop even if we wanted to with all this rain."

"Well, at least we know which way to go to get further into town," Frodo said. "Let's go."

Pippin was still a bit whiny, but as long as he was clinging to Merry, he was okay.

The four of them made their way up the road with Merry in the lead, Pippin clutching his cloak and doing his best to keep up. And then there were Sam and Frodo, who walked hand-in-hand beside each other. They both blushed madly, but it was impossible to see in the pouring rain. The travelers were silent for only a moment before someone decided to speak.

"Does anyone have any idea why that place was like something out of a nightmare?" Merry asked. They all knew that he was talking about the bath house. "I'm remembering things from last night in bits and pieces. None of it makes sense. Like it was all a dream."

Sam made an amused sound. "If this is about dreams, I can tell you a real whopper."

"I guess strange was the dream theme of last night," Frodo said.

Pippin only listened quietly. He didn't want to tell them the things he remembered because he was afraid that they'd laugh at him and call him immature. Remaining silent was his best bet.

"Well, listen to this," Merry began. "Now the sequence seems all wrong, but this is what I remember. A talking goose-"

The youngest hobbit stopped walking, let Merry's cloak go and raised his eyebrows.

"Wait," Sam said, pulling Frodo to a halt. "Did you just say a talking goose?"

Merry stopped as well and sighed. "Yes-"

"My dream had a talking goose in it too," Sam said.

"Well, that takes the strangeness out of MY dream," Frodo murmured.

Pippin stared at the ground, lost in thought. Should he tell them that what they were experiencing wasn't a dream? Would they believe him? Or would Merry simply blow him off again?

"Alright. It's strange for two people to have a dream involving a talking goose," Merry said to Sam. He walked closer to the gardener and his master, who quickly let go of each other's hand. "But I wasn't done yet. I remember fire and a rat and something about sleep fog." He shrugged. "Any of that sound familiar?"

Sam gave a slow nod. "I remember something about sleep fog, too. But I don't remember nothing about no rat or no fire."

Pippin cleared his throat. "It happened, you know."

The other three hobbits looked at Pippin strangely.

"I remember everything," Pippin said. He shook his head. "Well, not everything. You see, Wisteria brought Merry and me some snacks and I guess I fell asleep after I ate them. When I woke up, I saw that Merry was missing, so I decided to look for him because I thought he was still mad at me." He looked at Merry out of the corner of his eye.

Merry looked at Pippin and sighed. "Pip..."

The youngest of them went on. "Anyway, I heard a voice out in the hall saying Merry's name, and I went to see who it was. I didn't see anyone, so I went to Sam and Frodo's room to see if Merry decided to go there. That's when Sam and I saw this duck-"

"Goose," both Sam and Merry corrected.

"That's when Sam and I saw this GOOSE out in the hall," Pippin told them.

Sam frowned and thought for a while. "That sounds familiar. You woke me up and I saw that Mr. Frodo wasn't in bed. And then we heard that voice. We looked out into the hall and it was that goose."

Frodo laughed under his breath. "I'm sorry. Do you mean that a goose was actually talking?"

"Right," Pippin said as if it were nothing at all. "We followed it around for a while and it lead us to this old garden house behind the bath house-"

"Wait. You saw a talking goose and you wanted to FOLLOW it?" Frodo asked.

The gardener rolled his eyes. "That's the same thing I said."

Merry looked to be in deep thought. "Garden house. I remember something about a garden house," he murmured.

Suddenly the rain slackened a bit only to be intermingled with golf ball sized hail stones. The poor hobbits were being pummeled by the solid precipitation.

"We have to get inside! Quick!" Frodo said. He looked ahead and pointed toward the buildings not far up the road (but WAY too far when you're very near being bludgeoned to death by icy rocks from the sky).

-soon...

The four travelers hurriedly entered a shop in town and tried their best to shake themselves dry without completely flooding the shop floor.

"Welcome, gentlehobbits," the owner said. When he saw that there were a few hail stones falling from each of them, he looked surprised. "Nasty weather. Came in out of nowhere."

Merry gave a weary laugh. "You don't have to tell us. We've been walking in it for two days."

The owner frowned. "Two days? Why, it only started raining here a few minutes ago."

Sam, Frodo, Merry and Pippin all looked confused. Merry looked at his friends and called them to him so they could form a makeshift huddle. "Okay, that was an odd comment. You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" he whispered to them.

"I'm thinking that maybe the storm just got here," Pippin muttered.

"No, we came into the storm when we entered the Northfarthing. Which means that it should've already been here," Sam informed them quietly.

"Sirs?" the owner of the shop said, but he wasn't heard by his customers.

Frodo nodded. "I trust Sam on that. He makes a great portion of his living off of understanding weather patterns."

"Excuse me, sirs," the owner said.

"Well, what's that supposed to mean?" Merry asked.

Pippin frowned and shook his head. "I never got done telling you fellows the rest of what happened last night."

"Uh, What can I do for you, sirs?" the owner said a little louder.

Frodo turned to the owner and forced a smile. "I'm sorry, sir. We had something to discuss. We are travelers, but we've lost everything we brought with us."

The owner looked a bit confused. "I know I would advise against traveling in weather like this, if you were to ask me. But I suppose you're not here for advice. You're here to get some supplies. So feel free to look around."

Frodo nodded to the owner and gave a small smile. "Thank you."

Sam stood right behind Frodo. "Mr. Frodo, did you bring enough money-?"

"Please, Sam. If we have nothing else, we have money," Frodo said.

The Brandybuck sighed and walked on past them. "Yet another good reason for bringing Frodo along, eh, Pip?" he asked his little cousin as he moved past Frodo and Sam. He was trying not to seem disturbed by the whole ordeal.

Surprisingly Pippin quickly took the cue to keep a level head. "Frodo, you're always prepared," Pippin chimed as he too walked past Frodo, right on Merry's heels.

Sam, however, hadn't taken the hint. "I wanna hear what else-"

Frodo put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I think you should go with Pippin and Merry to gather supplies for the rest of our trip. I'll speak with the shopkeeper for a moment."

Sam hesitantly obeyed. As soon as he got to Pippin and Merry he began looking for anything they could use, but he was determined to ask what Pippin knew. "So, what else happened?"

Pippin looked at Merry as if to ask for permission to go on with his story.

Merry gave a nod. "We wanna know what happened because obviously we can't remember it right. I remember a garden house, but it doesn't make sense at all."

Pippin nodded. "Alright." He had to remember where he left off. "Right. That talking bird lead Sam and me to the garden house. It was telling us that those two hobbits we were staying with weren't to be trusted. That they were really..." He looked back at Merry. He knew his cousin would lecture him about his ridiculous belief in faeries, but that was what those two were.

"What? What is it?" Merry asked.

"It told us that those two were faeries," Sam put in. "I remember now. That bird said that he was once a man and they turned him into a goose."

Merry blinked half in disbelief and half in an attempt to recall this information.

The Took gave a nod. "He called them shape shifters and conjurers of powerful magic. That they could make stuff disappear or cause natural disasters or even change someone into something else." It was great having Sam there to back him up on this, otherwise, Merry probably would have thought this was his imagination.

"It also said that we were under their spell," Sam said. He was about to go on, but Merry stopped him.

"Just like Pippin said from the beginning," Merry commented. "That's right. A faeries' curse. It's coming back to me now." He thought back on what had happened after he discovered what was going on in the garden house. "Sleep fog. That was when they put you to sleep. Duroger and Wisteria went in to talk to the goose and then they turned him into a mouse."

The gardener was about to speak, but he was interrupted once again. "So everything bad that's been happening to us lately is because of those two," Pippin said. "The fog, the rain, the forest incidents, the black outs. It was all their doing."

"We have to let Frodo know. Maybe he has something to add, considering he wasn't there for the whole faerie story," Merry said.

-at the time...

Frodo was quietly looking around the front of the store for anything they might need, but the whole incident with the Lightfoots had rattled him. And that story about the talking goose made it even worse. What in The Shire were they dealing with here? He picked up a map and started looking at it, but he wasn't seeing it at all. He was trying to envision what had happened that night.

He remembered going to Duroger's room for wine. He remembered feeling quite embarrassed about something Duroger had said to him... What exactly had this hobbit said to embarrass him? Frodo had to close his eyes for a moment to help envision that night in its entirety...

Okay, so that didn't work, but he could recall the way he felt just fine. And suddenly something about Sam came to mind. That's right! Duroger had said something about Sam. Sam and him. But something had made Duroger bring that subject up. So what were they talking about before?

Of course! Duroger had asked why they were in Oatbarton in the first place. Once Frodo told him that Pippin had a crush on a lass in Long Cleeve, he brought up something about Pippin. Now what was it? Frodo remembered being confused by the comment... Pippin and Merry! That was it. Pippin and Merry...kissing...

Frodo opened his eyes and stared at the map he held. Pippin and Merry KISSING? Well..., it shouldn't have surprised him really. He sighed. This was too much to handle right now. He was getting tired just trying to put it all together. So maybe he should think about something else.

The Baggins refolded the map and looked at the shopkeeper. Perhaps he could ask about Duroger and Wisteria. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir," Frodo began.

"No. No bother at all, kind sir. What can I do for you?" the shopkeeper asked.

"Actually, I was hoping to get some information," the Baggins said. "What do you know about the two hobbits that run the bath house here in town?"

"Two hobbits? The inn only has one owner," the shopkeeper said.

Frodo raised a brow. "Not the inn. I mean the bath house at the edge of town coming in on the west side just off the main road. Duroger and Wisteria Lightfoot."

The owner looked at Frodo strangely. "I'm sorry, sir. There's only one bath house in town and that's the one next to the inn. Who are the Lightfoots?"

Pippin, Sam and Merry stopped what they were doing and walked over to the shopkeeper and Frodo with the supplies they'd collected.

"What did he just say?" Merry asked.

"I think he said that he doesn't know the two hobbits we stayed with last night," Sam said.

"Not that part. We had a feeling about that part," Merry stated. "The part about there only being one bath house and it's near the inn."

Frodo frowned. "I don't get it."

Merry pondered this for a moment then shook his head. "You're telling us that there's no bath house at the edge of town?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "The only thing out there-you say you came in from the west-is that old abandoned farm house and garden house. That place has been desolate for nigh on 30 years."

Pippin went pale.

Sam simply stared at the floor.

"Abandoned?" Merry asked.

"Thirty years?" Frodo pondered.

The shopkeeper gave a nod. "That's right, sirs."

Frodo cleared his throat. "Um, perhaps we should take what we have here." He looked at what his cousins and friend had picked up. "That will do." He looked back at the shopkeeper. "Could you tell me where we can rent a carriage?"

"Good idea, Frodo," Merry said.

"It's just across the road there," the shopkeeper told them, "though you can't see it for all this rain."

Frodo quickly pulled out his money pouch, grabbed Merry's hand and poured some coins in it. "You pay for this while Sam and I rent a carriage. It should be more than enough to cover the cost. Meet us over there."

Merry nodded.

So the master and the gardener quickly exited, leaving Merry and Pippin to pay for, not to mention carry all their supplies across the road.

The shopkeeper began adding their merchandise up. "I suppose he's in a hurry to leave town."

"We all are," Merry informed him.

Pippin was still a little pale. "Maybe I should get us some more clothes too."

Merry nodded.

As soon as Pippin turned to leave there was a loud cracking sound behind him. When he turned to see what it was, he saw one of the beams on the ceiling swing down and smack Merry right on top of the head. The Brandybuck collapsed.

"Merry!" Pippin shouted. He was by his cousin's side before the shopkeeper could even ask was he okay.

"My word! I'm so sorry. Is he alright?" the shopkeeper asked.

Pippin didn't even hear the shopkeeper. "Merry, say something." He was close to tears. "Say something, Merry. Or at least open your eyes. Merry?"

The hobbit in question groaned. "Ugh... My head..."

The Took let out a sigh of relief.

After the shopkeeper was sure that Merry would be fine, he looked at the fallen beam and frowned. "This thing isn't cracked." He fingered the end of it, a smooth cut. "Looks like it was sliced right here." He looked up and saw that the beam was only half of one and the other half was just sitting in place. "Hm?"

Pippin looked at the beam and gasped. "It's happening again."

"What's happening again?" both Merry and the shopkeeper asked.

Just as they asked the question, the fallen beam spontaneously caught fire.

"Whoa!" Merry exclaimed. He was the first on his feet.

Pippin's eyes were the size of watermelons.

"My store! It's haunted!" the shopkeeper said, looking around. "Please, spirits! Spare my store and the lives of the hobbits in it!"

Pippin quickly ran out of the store to the water pump, filled a bucket and ran back inside. Merry was trying to put the fire out with one of the blankets they were about to purchase. The youngest hobbit dumped the water on the burning beam and the blanket. With a sigh, he said, "There. We'd better get out of here before anything else happens."

"Right," Merry agreed. He went to the shopkeeper and handed him all the coins Frodo had given him. "This should be more than enough to pay for the things we bought. I'm sorry we brought this upon you."

The shopkeeper looked at the coins, then up at Merry. "Brought this upon me?" Before he was able to go on, the two hobbits had gotten their supplies and left.

"You know what that was, don't you?" Pippin asked. He turned to look at Merry and gasped. "Merry!" There were a couple of trails of blood running down the side of his head and one right down the middle of his forehead, but the rain was quickly washing it all away.

"Yes?" Merry asked.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Pippin questioned. He stopped them under a nearby tree, dropped everything he was carrying and sat Merry down.

"Shouldn't we wait to do this someplace else?" Merry asked as the younger hobbit began examining between his curls. He was trying his best to hold onto the items he was carrying. He didn't feel anything aside from the obvious sting of having a beam of wood fall on your head.

"I can't see anything. You have too much hair," Pippin complained, still trying to see Merry's injury. "And this rain is making it even more impossible."

"We don't have time for this, Pip. Let's just get across the road," Merry said. He was about to try to move Pippin out of his way so he could stand, but when he put his hands on Pippin's hips, he stopped. This looked very inappropriate with Pippin standing before him with his fingers in Merry's hair. And Merry just happened to have Pippin's hips right at the proper level for certain oral activities that shouldn't be coming to mind at the moment.

He soon realized that Pippin had stopped investigating his hair. Was he thinking the same thing?

Pippin hopped back and quickly began fumbling around to pick up the things he'd been carrying. "I-I can't see anything here anyway. Maybe once we're-once we're in the carriage..." He was dropping everything he was trying to pick up.

Merry smiled to himself. He could tell that whatever had come to the younger hobbit's mind flustered him. It was cute to see.

-across the road...

Frodo was filling out some paper work for the carriage rental as Sam sat quietly contemplating the whereabouts of their other two companions. It shouldn't have taken them that long to finish purchasing their things.

Handing over the finished papers to the gentlehobbit who ran the place, Frodo turned to Sam. "Done. Now all we have to do is ride our way to Long Cleeve from here. What time is it now?" He looked at the clock on the wall which read 9:12. "If my estimates are correct, we should be in Long Cleeve by late this evening."

"Assuming nothing goes wrong, you mean," Sam said. "Mr. Merry and Mr. Pippin should've been here by now."

Frodo frowned. "You're right, Sam. They should have." He raised an eyebrow. "You and Pippin and Merry know something, don't you?"

"Well, we were sorting through the stuff that happened last night. It sounds strange, but I remember it happening," Sam told him. "You see, this is what happened..." He went on to tell Frodo what Pippin had told Merry and him about last night's events and his master listened carefully.

"That is very strange and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It doesn't even sound real, but it has to be," Frodo said. "I've seen strange things happen over these past few days. I've read about the elves and their mystical powers. I've even met a wizard and seen a little of what he can do." He looked at Sam and sighed. "I have to try to think about this rationally. And I know now without a shadow of a doubt that these things that were bothering us were indeed faeries. But why?"

Sam looked around to make sure the owner wasn't around. "Well, the goose said that they like to have fun by tormenting people."

"Well, why us? Why not some other hobbits? What did we ever do to them?" Frodo asked.

"I think Mr. Pippin said that it had something to do with those mushrooms we ate back in Bywater," Sam said.

Frodo's stomach began to rumble and he turned bright red. "Oh, don't bring up food." He thought for a moment. "That's right. Pippin did say that."

Merry and Pippin came into the shop with their arms full.

"What took you so long?" Frodo asked.

Pippin and Merry looked at each other, then at Frodo. "I don't think you wanna know," Merry told him. They placed their supplies on a nearby bench and Pippin flopped down beside them.

Frodo put his hands on his hips and looked at Merry for a while. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Merry asked, pushing his wet curls out of his eyes.

"Where's my change?" Frodo asked, holding out his hand.

End Chapter 10

a/n: Okay, so this chapter was goofier than it should have been. These hobbits are in a real pickle, yet they still somehow find time (very little time) for ridiculousness. I don't know what to say. They did it, not me. Please review!


	11. The Great Divide

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: A carriage ride turned upside-down.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: Ah, I thank you all once again for your wonderful reviews. It's also good to get negative reviews from time to time whether anyone wants them or not. That kinda thing tells you where you need to improve. Anyway, here I go again with another chapter. Please enjoy and please review.

Chapter 11: The Great Divide

Frodo looked at Merry for a moment and frowned. "You're bleeding."

Merry wiped at the blood that was running down his forehead again. It was only one trail this time. "Oh, yeah. That's the part I didn't think you wanted to know about."

Sam looked at them strangely. "What happened?"

After rummaging through their new supplies, Pippin stood and walked over to Merry. "Okay, sit down." He held up the bandage he'd pulled out of the bag.

Strangely enough, Merry did as he was told. And though he was distracted by Pippin's hands at work, he relayed the story of the fallen beam.

"It caught fire? Just like that?" Frodo asked.

Merry tried to nod, but Pippin held his head still as he was tying off the bandage.

"This is unbelievable. We have to leave this place before something bad happens here too," Sam said.

Frodo nodded. "You're right. We should hurry."

-soon...

The group was riding along in their rented carriage finishing off the apples they'd picked up for second breakfast. It wasn't a well-cooked meal, but it was more than they'd had. Sam was seated beside his master while Merry sat facing the gardener, and Pippin, of course, sat beside Merry, facing Frodo. The rain was banging against the top of the carriage so hard that they'd asked if their driver wanted to get inside and let one of them drive instead. But the driver said he was fine and politely ignored any further offers of that kind.

"Faeries?" Frodo asked. "Well, that explains what Duroger was talking about just before I blacked out. When I asked him what he was, he told me to ask you, Pippin."

"I said it," Pippin told them all.

Merry rolled his eyes and fingered the bandage that was on his head. "Yes, we know you said it. You don't have to keep reminding us of that. And I already said that I was sorry for doubting you. So can we please change the subject? All this talk about faeries and curses is making me antsy."

"What would you rather talk about?" Pippin asked.

Frodo leaned forward a bit. "I know. We could talk about what we'll do once we get to Long Cleeve."

Sam simply smiled.

Merry felt that sudden awkwardness that he couldn't help associating with the thought of Pippin and Long Cleeve.

"What was it about that lass that made you want to come all this way?" Frodo asked. But he had a different reason for asking this time. Especially after Duroger had informed of Pippin and Merry's recent activities. Not to mention that the last time they were talking about it, everyone was well on their way to being hammered.

Pippin turned red up to his ear tips. "I'm not going all this way because of her. I just remembered her from when I visited there."

"Why? Why her? There had to be at least three dozen other North-Tooks there. Why her?" Merry asked so quickly that everyone had to look at him. "What?"

"I don't know," Pippin said, studying the hair on his feet.

"Well, what's she like?" Frodo asked.

"I don't know," Pippin repeated.

Frodo giggled. "Well, you have to remember SOMETHING about her." He looked to Merry for answers. "What did he tell you?"

Merry really wasn't in the mood to recall what Pippin had said about his crush. _'You'd swear she was an angel. She's got the most beautiful dark golden, well, almost auburn hair you've ever seen. And...and her eyes are... Her eyes are just like..., well, blue. Not creepy blue like Frodo's. Just NICE blue,'_ Merry remembered his little cousin saying. Great. He remembered it anyway. Who cares? Merry sure didn't. But he couldn't tell his older cousin that. The whole reason Merry was supposed to be on this journey was to meet this lass and somewhere along the way that had changed. He wasn't sure why he was here anymore.

Oh, he knew why everyone else was here. Sam wanted to come and hear the adventurous story of Bandobras Took. And Frodo, well, he'd come along so Sam wouldn't have to stay behind to take care of him. And Pippin was there because it was his idea and because there was a lass he wanted to see. So why was Merry here?

Frodo just looked at Merry and it took the Brandybuck a moment to realize that he hadn't answered Frodo's question.

Merry sighed. "If I recall correctly, I think he described her as being a younger lass with 'dark golden' curls and 'nice blue' eyes. His words."

Frodo chuckled quietly as he looked Merry over. So those were the features that interested Pippin the most about that lass. Interesting that Merry shared those features.

"This lass would have to be pretty special to get Mr. Pippin's attention," Sam reasoned.

Pippin shook his head. "That's not what this trip is about. This is about adventure and hearing the story of Bandobras Took."

"Then why bring her up at all?" Merry murmured.

The Took looked at Merry. "Because you asked," he murmured back.

Merry looked angry at first, then he lowered his head and laughed to himself. "I did ask," he said as if it were some startling, new discovery.

"Can we talk about something else now? Please?" Pippin begged.

"Oh, come now, Pippin. That's what this trip is all about. If we can't talk about that, then what CAN we talk about?" Frodo asked.

"None of you seem to be WORRIED that there's a faeries' curse on us," Pippin said. "Let's go back to that."

"What would be the point? That's something we have no control over," Merry told him. "We can't do anything about it."

"Well, let's look at some faerie facts. What do you remember about faeries from those old stories?" Pippin questioned. "Frodo, Sam, you too. Try to remember all you can about those stories."

Silence. Pippin couldn't tell if they were thinking about what they knew from faerie tales or whether they were thinking about how crazy this was. The younger hobbit frowned and closed his eyes so he could concentrate. He would probably be the only one to recall anything.

From most of the stories he'd heard, he remembered faeries being kind and fun-loving beings that fluttered about or flew on the backs of dragonflies drinking nectar from flowers. And every now and then they would play simple tricks on someone just for a laugh-like move small things around the house or eat someone's sweets. But even then the faeries would do something nice for the small troubles they'd caused. And the story would end happily. What they were going through now didn't make much sense, but he could affiliate it with one story.

He remembered the story of a Man who had been riding through the woods one day and happened across a female faerie as she was bathing at the edge of a pond. Her bath interrupted, she cursed the human with the worst curse of all. Anytime he would fall in love, the faerie would cause his love interest to despise him. And so he never married and never had children. No one knows what happened after that because that was where the story ended. Pippin assumed that the man died alone.

All fiction..., wasn't it?

On the other hand, the only faerie tales that Merry remembered revolved around evil deeds, torture and death. And the faeries always won out in the end. There was no fighting them. Of course, in those stories the faeries had been wronged by big people. Used, abused, enslaved. And of course once they were set free from said wrongdoing, that faerie would run off and tell his or her faerie buddies what had happened. And then everything went bad and they usually topped it all off with having the violator kill himself. Cursed and then killed... Merry wasn't about to tell his friends that.

Frodo, whether by choice or by chance, always saw faeries as romantic creatures. They had interests in love and sensuality and they would often be drawn to anyone who was in love. They helped the lovelorn and they advised those who sought advice in love. Of course, some faeries would fall in love with a big person. If the person did not love said faerie back, she would curse her love. He hadn't really heard what those curses would do.

The faeries he'd heard about were not only romantic, but they were also fun-loving and threw parties every night inside their mysterious faerie circles. And if someone were ever to break a faerie circle, he would then be considered an enemy to all of the faeries in that circle. They would all get together and put the biggest curse on the criminal that they could conjure... Is that what happened to them?

Sam had been silently contemplating their faerie situation and he remembered one story that one of his uncles had told him a long time ago. It was a story about a handsome young gardener hobbit who was being plagued by faeries for one reason or another. But one day the young gardener noticed that the faeries would leave him alone anytime he would go to one particular part of the garden... If he could only remember exactly what part of the garden that was, he would probably have an answer for their problem. The hobbit in the story had lots of different plants in his garden...

"Well, that goose said that he'd seen those faeries do all kinds of things. Like causing natural disasters. That must be why we're getting all this rain," Sam murmured as he tried to think of the plant the faerie tale hobbit had in his garden.

Frodo gave a slow nod and thought for a moment. "That explains why the shopkeeper had only seen rain for a few minutes before we got there. All of this rain has only been following US around this whole time." He shook his head. "Of course, that explains why when we were leaving Bywater that fog never went away like people said it did. It was only supposed to be around the Green Dragon, but we never got out of it."

The carriage suddenly began to shake violently as if they were rolling over huge rocks. Frodo was knocked against the wall and Sam against him, and the same happened with Pippin and Merry respectively. They were noticeably moving much faster now.

"What was that?" Merry asked.

But before anyone could even guess the answer, the entire carriage felt as though it was quickly lifted and then slammed back down, causing all four hobbits to hit their heads on the ceiling so hard that Merry's injury started to bleed through his bandage.

"What's going on? Why won't the driver stop those ponies?" Frodo asked.

"I'm scared," Pippin said, close to tears.

Sam struggled to get to his feet without falling over and headed toward the driver's window, but not before they were all jarred and Sam was nearly sent flying right into Frodo again. He slid the window open and peered out at where their driver once sat. He looked back at the other hobbits with panic written on his face. "He's gone!"

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Pippin practically screamed.

Sam turned back to them. "I mean we're gonna have to get out of-"

One last bump and the carriage was slammed into a thin, but obviously sturdy tree, splitting it straight down the middle.

It was all happening so fast that it was hard to make out exactly what happened before Merry and Sam's side of the carriage came to a halt. Everything seemed fine except for the fact that the half of the carriage Pippin and Frodo had once occupied was now completely gone. It was like there'd never been another half of the carriage there to begin with. The two of them sat in their seats staring out at the trees, trying to gather their wits when it occurred to them at about the same time to breathe. The sudden silence after the loud banging had been deadening and it was hard to remember to breathe when you've just watched a tree enter your carriage and cut it in half. But for some reason, that seemed like an age ago.

Sam looked at the Brandybuck and after a moment, he said, "Mr. Merry, you're bleeding."

Merry looked at Sam and ignored the bit of blood that trickled down the side of his face. "We have to find Pippin and Frodo. If there's anything left of them."

"Don't say such things," Sam said.

Merry looked back out of the open part of the carriage. "What do you mean, don't say such things? Look at this. Half of this stupid carriage is MISSING and there's no sign of them anywhere."

"We haven't even gotten out yet," Sam argued.

Merry was about to snap back with something quite pessimistic if not downright demonic, but he changed his mind. "Well, I hope you're right." He struggled to stand, realizing too late that his entire body ached. Once outside, he looked around for any sign of the other half of their carriage. "We're in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere. Where's the road?"

Sam hopped from the carriage. Obviously he wasn't suffering from the same aches and pains Merry suffered. "Mr. Frodo! Mr. Pippin!" He looked at the ground behind the carriage. "Here's our half's trail. We should follow this back to where we came apart."

Why was Sam under the impression that those two were safe? Sure, THEY came out unscratched, but that didn't mean that Pippin and Frodo had the same luck. It seemed that everyone around him needed a swift kick from reality... Of course, the last person he told wasn't living in reality ended up being right about everything. He watched Sam as he began trudging frantically through the brush.

After Merry caught up with Sam, he looked at this trail that his friend was following so desperately. "Sam, what if the rain washed their trail away?"

"We have to try," was Sam's only response.

Merry opened his mouth to say something else, but he decided against it.

It took much longer to get back to the source of their division than either of them thought it would. And there stood the culprit. A somewhat small, but sturdy tree. But that wasn't their main focus. The two of them immediately laid eyes on the second trail that lead off in almost the opposite direction than their own.

"They went that way. Come on," Sam said.

"Well, what if they're looking for us? Shouldn't we stay put?" Merry asked. He already knew that was a dumb suggestion. If Pippin and Frodo had come looking for them, they'd just meet up with them along the way. Well, Pippin wouldn't have known any better, but Frodo would have lead them in the right direction. And Pippin had a tendency of listening to Frodo.

-someplace else...

Frodo popped up out of the water. Water? He looked around the pond he found himself in, then looked up and saw their half of the carriage hanging from a wayward branch that jutted out of the cliff they'd fallen from. That was one scary incident. Who knew they would end up safely in water. "Pippin?" Was he wrong to assume that they were BOTH safe? "Pippin!" His youngest cousin couldn't have sunk to the bottom, could he?

"Frodo!" Pippin called.

Frodo looked around frantically, hoping the lad wasn't drowning.

"Frodo, over here," Pippin shouted.

The Baggins spotted said Took safely on shore. Frodo let out a sigh of relief. "Pippin. Thank goodness. Are you alright?"

Pippin looked himself over, then gave a nod. "You?"

Frodo nodded as well.

Offering a hand to help his elder cousin out of the water, Pippin smiled. "Good. So we're both alright."

But just as Frodo was about to swim to safety, there seemed to be a struggle going on in the water behind Frodo. Both hobbits had to look and see what was going on. It was one of the carriage ponies trying to swim to safety as well. Frodo didn't want to leave the poor thing out there to possibly drown, so he turned around and swam toward the pony. The thing was kicking around so wildly that he could barely approach it.

"Pippin, give me a hand," Frodo said.

Pippin paused for a moment. "That thing's bigger than both of us."

"Would you prefer it drown?" Frodo asked.

Pippin shook his head, then dove back into the pond.

After a couple of minutes of battling to calm the beast, the two hobbits successfully swam the pony up on shore.

"There," Pippin said to the thing. "You're safe." He was proud to have saved a life.

Unfortunately, the pony didn't feel like showing any gratitude. It was so shaken up from the fall that it took off running at full speed.

Frodo frowned. The pony disappeared quickly from sight in the constant downpour. "This is awful." He took a seat on the shore and looked up once again to where their half of the carriage was hanging. "How in The Shire are we supposed to get back up there?"

Pippin, one the other hand, mourned something different. "That pony could have been our ride back to Merry and Sam."

"Pippin, let's focus here," Frodo told the youngster.

"Right," Pippin agreed, giving Frodo his attention.

"We fell from a cliff and we landed in a pond," Frodo said, pulling out the map they'd purchased from the general store. The rain had all but washed some of the ink away. Frodo frowned once more. "This is just great. Either way, I don't remember there being a pond anywhere near the road we were on. As a matter of fact, I think the only body of water that is even close to here is Lake Evendim."

Pippin looked out at the pond, then back at Frodo. "This isn't it."

Frodo sighed and looked around at the small body of water. "No, Pippin. No, it isn't."

"Then what do we do?" Pippin asked.

"We find a way back up and onto the road again," Frodo said. "And the only way we'll be able to do that is if we follow the cliff until it leads us up to where we came from."

-meanwhile...

"Where do you think the driver went?" Sam asked.

"How in blue blazes should I know?" Merry said. "For all I know he was one of those faeries in disguise and wanted to send us to our untimely demise."

Sam stopped in his tracks and stared at Merry. "Do you think they would do that?"

"Why not? They've fogged us, rained on us, HAILED on us, sent wild animals after us, put us to sleep on several occasions, tried to DROWN Frodo, tried to KILL me with a beam of wood, tried to BURN an entire store down, et cetera, ad nauseam. And ad infinitum if we don't find a way to stop this. So to answer your question, YES, I think they would do that," Merry ranted, still trudging ahead, barely paying attention to the trail they were following.

Sam sighed, but kept up with Merry. He looked ahead a bit and through the rain, he could swear there was a cliff. Then he eyed the direction of the trail and gasped. "Oh, no," he murmured. He went running ahead of Merry.

The Brandybuck watched Sam strangely, then looked ahead to see the cliff as well. He felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach and his stomach fall to his feet. Once he was able to put one foot in front of the other again, he ran up next to Sam and the two of them stared over the edge of the cliff. All they saw was the other half of the carriage hanging by a branch in the cliff. There was no sign of their friends anywhere.

End Chapter 11

a/n: Okay, so that probably would have been more dramatic if we didn't already know that Frodo and Pippin are safe and sound. Please review!


	12. One Rainy Wish

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: Sometimes you get what's coming to you.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: You must know how much your reviews mean to me. I thank you kindly. Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, but it needed some refurbishing (still does to tell the truth). Of course, some of the other chapters needed refurbishing too, but they're already out there. Thanks for hanging in there and I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Things are starting to look up for our travelers.

Chapter 12: One Rainy Wish

Pippin sighed loudly. He and Frodo had been following the cliff they fell from for what seemed to the Took to be hours. In actuality it had only been about six minutes, but who was counting?

"How are you holding up?" Frodo asked. He knew that Pippin was just looking for a little attention really, so he figured he'd ask.

"I'm tired. We didn't get very much sleep last night," Pippin told him.

Frodo nodded. "You're right. The last FEW nights have been awful. And from what I can tell, we won't be in Long Cleeve for a while."

Pippin was silent for a moment. "Um, Frodo."

"Yes?"

"I...don't want to go to Long Cleeve anymore."

Frodo couldn't believe what he was hearing. They'd come all this way and had faced down impossible odds and had come close to death and now Pippin didn't even want to go where they were headed.

Pippin could tell by the look on his cousin's face that the comment puzzled him. "I mean, we'd only be bringing them trouble. When Merry and I were at that shop and the wood caught fire, I thought to myself, 'If this place burns down, it'll be our fault.' I don't want something like that to happen in Long Cleeve."

Frodo's heart went out to the little Took. He was actually making sense. More sense than even he was at the moment. He put his arm around Pippin. "That's one of the most intelligent and considerate things you've ever brought to my attention, Pippin. I'm so proud of you."

Pippin smiled, but it quickly disappeared. "We brought it on you and Sam, you know."

"That's not fair to say. It's not like you did it on purpose. You didn't know," Frodo said.

"Well, we know now. So should we really go anywhere with something like this hanging over our heads?"

"We have to go someplace. We can't just wait around in the woods," Frodo replied. "We're hobbits. We weren't made for the wilderness." He sighed. "Besides, what can we do anyway?"

-in the meantime...

Sam fell to his knees and instantly began to weep.

Merry could only stare off the edge of the cliff at the fallen half of the carriage. His eyes were stinging something fierce and he was sure that wasn't rain water that was filling them. He was about to cry. He hadn't cried since his early tweens. Of course, he hadn't had a devastating travesty such as this befall him. His two favorite cousins were gone. He wasn't even sure how he should feel. "Pippin," he found himself murmuring.

"Come on, Mr. Merry. We have to go after them," Sam said. He'd pulled himself together and was standing at the edge of the cliff.

Merry looked surprised. "Come on? Come on where?"

"We're gonna have to jump," Sam told him.

Once Merry saw that Sam was completely willing to jump off the cliff, he ran over to him and pulled him back from the edge.

"Let me go! What are you doing?" Sam asked as he fell backwards onto the Brandybuck.

Merry struggled to roll Sam off of him and took a deep breath. "What's the matter with you? Are you mad? You can't even swim and you plan to jump off of a cliff into a body of water we know nothing about?"

"We have to do something. We have to find them," Sam said.

Merry put his hands on Sam's shoulders and shook him. "You're not thinking straight. There's a better way to go about doing this."

Sam shoved Merry's hands away from him. "You don't understand! You don't understand how I feel right now!"

Merry looked confused. "What do you mean, I don't understand? Two of my cousins are out there and I have no idea whether they're alive or dead."

"I never told him how I feel."

"What?"

"I almost lost him once and I didn't tell him how I felt and now he's gone and I still haven't told him."

Merry continued to look confused. "Are you talking about Frodo?"

Sam broke down crying on Merry's shoulder and threw his arms around him.

"Ach!" Merry said. Sam sure had a mean grip. He wasn't sure what to say to comfort the gardener, so he hugged him back. He didn't want to think the worst had happened. Those were his cousins, yet there was something much more painful about the thought of their demise, something he couldn't quite explain. Tears once again threatened the backs of Merry's eyes.

"I know it ain't right for a lad to feel this way about another lad, but I can't help it, Mr. Merry. I can't help the way I feel," Sam finally added.

Merry was a little confused by that statement, yet in a way he knew exactly where this conversation was going. And he was a little afraid to ask, "How DO you feel, Sam?"

"Well, he's my best friend, but I can't help feeling like there should be more between us," Sam said, still pouring his heart out onto Merry's shoulder. "I love him."

Merry froze. "Well, I wouldn't tell him that. Not just now anyway."

Sam finally lifted his head and looked at Merry with teary eyes. "But shouldn't I let him know how I feel before something else bad happens?"

"No," Merry answered plainly. "Well, you know Frodo. He's reserved. He's old fashioned in a new fashioned sort of way. Besides, now isn't really the time to bombard him with this when he has faeries to deal with." He didn't know if he was saying this for the Gamgee's sake or his own. He didn't want to face the feelings he harbored for his little cousin just now no matter what they may be.

Fresh tears rolled down Sam's face. "You're right. I'll wait." He wiped his face on his sleeves, but the rain just replaced the tears. "Thanks for not laughing at me, Mr. Merry." He began sobbing again and put his head on the Brandybuck's shoulder once more.

"You're gonna have to stop this, Sam. We can't very well stand here. We have to find those two." Merry's voice came out less confident and a lot less steady than he'd intended.

Sam sighed and let go of Merry.

"And we're not jumping. We're going to find a safer way down. Follow me," Merry told him.

-in a place unknown...

Frodo heard a sudden screech behind them and turned to see a dark cloud of what could only be crows flying right at them. "Oh, not this again."

Pippin hadn't been paying attention. He was too busy concentrating on climbing a wall of vines on the side of the cliff. "This is the only way up, Frodo. Come on."

"Then move it. We don't have much time!" Frodo said, struggling to climb up right behind his little cousin.

Pippin turned to see what Frodo was yammering about and noticed the mass of unusual but familiar blackness. "Crows." He managed to scurry up the rest of the vines in under two seconds, then reached down to help Frodo up. "Hurry!"

But when they both looked back, they didn't see anything behind them. There was only rain pouring down.

"They're gone," Pippin declared. He reached down to help Frodo on up.

"Well, let's not stick around here to see if they come back. Let's see if we can find Sam and Merry. I sure hope they're doing better than we are." He climbed up until he was able to reach Pippin's outstretched hand...

-with the others...

"Rosemary!" Sam exclaimed.

Merry almost stumbled in his tracks. He turned completely around and walked backwards so he could see Sam. "What? What about Rosie?"

Sam looked confused. "What?"

"Didn't you just say, 'Rose, Merry'?"

"Right. I said rosemary," Sam told him.

"Well, what about her?" Merry asked. "If this is about that whole thing with you and Frodo, then I won't say a word to Rosie. On my honor."

Sam blushed a bit. "No. Not Rosie. Rosemary, the herb."

"Well, then, what about it? You can't just come out of nowhere talking nonsense like that."

"It ain't nonsense. It may be the way to get this curse off us."

"What? Why didn't you say anything before?"

Sam frowned. "I only remembered the story when Mr. Pippin told us to think back on them. And I only now remembered exactly what plant it was. But I'm not even sure if it'll work. It was only a story."

"We all thought that faeries were just stories and they turned out to be very real. Why wouldn't your rosemary cure be real? Besides, we've got nothing else to work with," Merry said. He was about to turn back around when he bumped into Pippin, who was trying to pull Frodo up onto the edge of the cliff. They knocked each other down and had to look at each other for a long time.

"Aa! Help!" Frodo cried, nearly sliding back down the vines.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam said. And it was Sam to the rescue. He ran over and grabbed Frodo's hand before he slipped.

As the gardener was saving his master, Merry grinned and quickly crawled over to Pippin to give him a hug. "You're alive!"

Pippin looked confused at first, then hugged his cousin. "I think so."

"I was so sure...I mean, we followed your trail and when we saw your side of the carriage hanging over the edge, we thought you'd drowned," Merry blathered. He sighed and kept holding onto Pippin. "I'm really REALLY glad you're alright."

"Thanks, Merry," Pippin said, still a little confused, but mainly because of the hug.

With one mighty pull, Sam had Frodo safely up on the cliff with them. "Mr. Frodo. We thought the worst had happened." And he attacked his master with a mighty hug. Tears followed.

Frodo had to struggle to breathe, but he didn't dare ask Sam to let him go. "I was beginning to think the worst had happened to you as well. I'm glad you're safe."

Merry looked over at the other two and grinned. "Frodo! You're alright too."

"Yes, no thanks to you or Pippin. You both nearly killed me," Frodo told them, chuckling.

Pippin laughed a little. "Sorry, Frodo."

"Forget that," Merry interrupted. "Sam's come up with a way for us to break this faeries' curse."

Both Pippin and Frodo's eyes widened.

"You've been holding out on us?" Pippin asked Sam. He looked at his other comrades. "He's one of them!" He ran over and grabbed Sam by the collar of his shirt. "Change back into whatever you are, evil monster faerie! Change!"

Sam gasped. "I ain't one of those things. If I were, would I be trying to get rid of them?"

"A device to get us to trust you!" Pippin reasoned.

Frodo moved Pippin aside. "He's not one of them, Pippin."

Merry frowned. "I don't know. Pippin's been right about everything else."

"You're not helping," Frodo told Merry. "Pippin, listen. I know Sam better than anyone. This is Sam. Don't you think I'd know a fake Sam if I saw one?"

"Of course you would, if it LOOKED like a fake Sam," Pippin said. "There's no telling what those two can do. If they can change a goose into a mouse, then they can probably change themselves into Sam or any of us." He looked at Frodo for a moment and then gasped. "You're one of them too!"

Frodo looked surprised. "Am not."

"How do I know?" Pippin asked.

Frodo looked to Merry for assistance.

Merry shrugged. "Maybe you are."

"Merry, come now," Frodo said. "You're both being very irrational."

"I don't know what might have happened to you between shopping at the general store and at the carriage rental," Pippin pointed out.

Merry stopped and thought for a while. "Actually, I think our driver was one of the faeries, even though I don't really have proof of it."

Pippin stopped and thought as well. "Of course. That makes sense...," he whispered to Merry. "Then who are you two?" he asked Sam and Frodo.

Frodo rolled his eyes.

"I'll tell you what. I'll go see if I can find some wild rosemary. You three can argue all you like," Sam said. And with that he started walking.

"Wild rosemary?" Frodo asked.

"The cure for the curse," Merry informed.

Frodo ran after Sam. "I'm coming too! If there's a cure, then I want some of it."

Merry looked at Pippin and Pippin at Merry. "Should we go with them?" Pippin asked.

The Brandybuck gave a nod and they both took off after their other two friends.

-later...

One had to be crafty to find a particular herb growing in the wild. Thankfully they had a skilled gardener with them. "There's no real pattern to how plants grow in the wild," Sam said as he navigated on through the brush. "Yet, there are subtle trends that can lead you to what you're looking for..."

Frodo just followed and listened to his wise gardener. Other hobbits usually underestimated Sam's intellect, but Frodo knew better. While the Gamgee wasn't well versed in the things 'intelligent gentlehobbits' talked about, he was definitely a master when it came to his craft.

Merry and Pippin, on the other hand, found Sam's tutorial quite boring. As a matter of fact, Pippin, nearly napping, almost stumbled over Merry several times.

"...and that would be our plant," Sam went on to say, pointing toward what looked to be a regular patch of wild blooms.

"Well, what do we do now?" Pippin asked.

Sam shrugged. "In the story, the hobbit would just be around rosemary and the faeries would stop bothering him."

"Well, let's be around them, then," Frodo said.

As the four travelers neared the plants, the rain suddenly stopped. The hobbits looked at each other and grinned. Frodo was so overwhelmed with joy that he hugged Sam. And since Frodo was hugging Sam, Pippin felt the need to hug Merry.

"Sam, you've very well saved us all," Merry said, laughing.

"This is wonderful!" Pippin cried. "Let's pick some."

Sam gave a nod and the four of them began picking some of the rosemary.

-that night...

Clear skies meant for a long journey before dark. Thankfully the hobbits had finally found their road and were merrily on their way to Long Cleeve. Unfortunately, they wouldn't make it into town before dark, but they were much better off now that rain no longer plagued their every step. The hobbits were weary and in need of a decent meal. Once again they were without backpacks because of the whole carriage incident and the only things they could eat were once again wild plants and mushrooms. Let's just say, they wouldn't be eating any mushrooms again for a long time.

Pippin flopped down on the grass near the road and sighed. "I'm starving." He fell backwards dramatically, but carefully enough not to slam his head against any rocks or fallen branches.

Merry sat beside his younger cousin and grinned. "This time I have to agree. We haven't had anything noteworthy to eat all day. A few apples this morning and a couple of berries for lunch."

"If I don't get some real food soon, I may not even make it to Long Cleeve," Pippin whined. He was only seconds away from throwing a tantrum, had he the energy for it.

Frodo laughed a little. "Settle down, you two. What do you expect to get out here? A loaf and cabbage? Perhaps some cold chicken and tea cakes?"

Sam's stomach called out as Frodo spoke of the food he so sorely missed and he looked away, blushing.

Everyone looked at Sam.

"See? Everyone agrees, Frodo. We need food," Pippin said with a giggle.

Frodo gave Sam a sympathetic look, but he too was giggling quietly. "Well, Peregrin, the last time we were all out in the woods like this, you and Meriadoc went off and did something for Sam and me. Why don't Sam and I go off and gather some food? How does that sound?"

Sam just raised his eyebrows and looked at his master strangely.

Pippin's eyes lit up. "Sounds great!"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Merry asked. "I mean, we could all go."

"Don't worry, Merry. As long as Sam is there with me, there's nothing to fear. Besides, those faeries aren't bothering us anymore," Frodo said. "You two should just relax. We don't mind, do we, Sam?"

"Course not," Sam replied.

Frodo nodded and looked at his two cousins.

"Sounds great!" Pippin repeated. He looked at Merry. "Let's just let them go. The sooner they leave, the sooner they'll come back with food."

Merry sighed. "Okay. If you two insist. We'll set up a campfire somehow."

Sam gave a nod and he and his master were off.

-where they parted ways...

"'We'll set up a campfire somehow'," Pippin mocked Merry's last statement. "Why'd you have to go and say that? Now they expect us to actually have a campfire set up when they come back."

"Would you relax, Pip?" Merry said. "There's nothing in The Hobbit Rule Book of Keeping Your Word that says we have to actually come through on our end of the bargain. It would be nice, but let's face it, we're not any good at setting up fires. We just have to attempt it. And since we already know that it won't work, we can just SAY that we attempted and failed."

Pippin looked confused at first, but then the little light bulb in his brain lit up and he nodded. "Right." He looked at Merry for a moment, then quickly crawled over to him, causing Merry to eye him strangely.

"What is it?" Merry questioned.

Pippin began rummaging through his pockets and pulled out the roll of bandage he'd used on his cousin's wound. "I still have this."

Merry tried to wave Pippin away. "I'm fine. You don't have to do that."

"Of course I do. You'd do the same for me," Pippin told him. "Besides, that one's all bloody." He reached up to touched Merry's bandage, but the elder hobbit pulled away. Pippin looked a little surprised. "What's wrong? Does it hurt?"

"No, it doesn't hurt. I just don't want you touching it," Merry told him.

The Took once again looked confused. "Why?"

"Because I just don't want you to. Now come off it," Merry said.

Pippin crawled even closer. "Are you mad at me again?"

"No, Pip. I'm not mad at you. I just have a lot on my mind is all."

"What could you possibly have on your mind? The faeries' curse is broken. We're free to do whatever we want now," Pippin said. He grinned. "We could even play a little joke on Frodo and Sam."

Merry thought for a moment and then smiled. "That's not a bad idea. Let's hide from them so when they get back they'll have this amazed look on their faces."

He and Pippin hopped to their feet, giggling all the way and ran over behind some high shrubs.

"We can even watch from here, but we have to be quiet," Merry advised.

Pippin leaned over Merry so he could see through the bushes. They were both silent for a while as they waited for their friends to return. But of course they weren't coming back fast enough. Not fast enough for Pippin anyway. "Merry?" he whispered.

"Yes, Pip?" Merry whispered back.

"You would tell me if there's something wrong, wouldn't you, Merry?"

Merry smiled sadly, but thankfully his little cousin couldn't see it. "Yes, Pip."

"So why won't you tell me what you're thinking about?"

"Because it's not important," Merry said.

There was a short silence before Pippin spoke again. "Merry?"

"Hm?"

"Do you remember when we were so close that we knew what the other was thinking?"

"No," Merry said plainly. "That never happened."

Pippin looked confused yet again. "Really?"

"Never happened."

"Oh..., well, I'd like to be that close," Pippin said.

Merry chuckled to himself. "No one would want to be that close to someone else."

"Of course it wouldn't just be ANYONE. It would be you," Pippin said.

There was nothing Merry could say. He wanted to bring up his little cousin's dream girl in Long Cleeve, but his mouth wouldn't let him speak the words. Yet, his heart skipped a beat just thinking that Pippin would want to be that close to him. He hadn't treated the Took all that well recently, so why would he want them to be that close?

"Do you remember when we were in Bindbale Wood and we went to the light?" Pippin asked slowly. "When we kissed?" He blushed, but as he leaned on Merry, he felt the Brandybuck's breathing change.

"I remember," was all the elder could say.

"I think that then, in a way, we were so close that we knew what the other was thinking," Pippin said. He was blushing madly now, but he carefully began unwrapping the bandage from around Merry's head.

And Merry didn't even realize what Pippin was doing. His mind had gone back to that kiss... Was Pippin hinting at something? No. It wasn't possible. His little Tookish brain could conjure sneaky thoughts from time to time, but no way was it possible that he would use it to get another kiss out of him. No. Why would he want to? They were on their way to see his lass.

Before he realized he'd been thinking too much, the Brandybuck was looking at a flushed Pippin who had his hands up around Merry's head. And he watched as bandage kept flying into his field of vision. Pippin soon finished replacing Merry's bandage and took a seat in front of his cousin.

Merry looked past Pippin through the brush to see if their other two companions had arrived yet.

"I-I liked it, you know. And I think you did too," Pippin said.

Merry had to look at him then. "I never said I didn't."

"But you never said you did," Pippin retorted.

Merry looked at the ground and thought for a moment. He knew there were ways to go about handling this situation, but he couldn't think of any at the moment. Instead he asked, "Why'd you do it?"

That obviously put an end to Pippin's chattiness for the time being. Since when was his eye so keen? This was strange behavior for Pippin. He wasn't used to his little cousin asking such deep and meaningful questions. Pip's questions were always about simple things. Maybe he'd done some growing up.

Merry didn't get an answer from Pippin concerning the whole kissing thing. As a matter of fact, Pippin had gotten very quiet and for Pippin, that was odd. By the time the Brandybuck looked up at Pippin, their lips had made contact.

End Chapter 12

a/n: It's been a long time. Hopefully I can get back on track with these updates. Thanks for reading and please review.


	13. On Second Thought

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: Our travelers finally stumble across a little help.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: Wow. I didn't expect to get good reviews for that last chapter. Thanks a lot. You know, even though those faeries weren't as malevolent as I intended them to be, there was still a kinda dark atmosphere with the rain and the fire and the carriage crash. But there's fun to be had once they get themselves out of the woods.

Chapter 13: On Second Thought

"We don't have weapons nor tools to hunt with, Mr. Frodo. What exactly do you plan on doing?" Sam asked.

"WE, Sam. What do WE plan on doing," Frodo corrected. "Obviously plants aren't enough to satisfy anyone's appetite, so we'll have to find some sort of animal we can eat."

"Which brings me back to my first question," Sam went on. "Mr. Frodo, we can't hunt with our bare hands. And we're not fast enough to chase anything down."

Frodo nodded. "Of course you're right about all of this. We'll just have to outsmart our prey." He walked along with a little bounce in his step.

"Have you gone mad, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked in almost a whisper.

The Baggins chuckled. "No, dear Samwise. One thing we have to our advantage is our natural stealth. Between the two of us, we should be able to catch something."

Sam had to admit, his master had faith in their abilities.

And so the two wandered aimlessly for a while and the dark was quickly consuming them. Thankfully the moon was bright enough tonight to help them along the way. Surely Pippin and Merry were worried about them by now, but if he and Sam returned without food, they would likely suffer a fate worse than any faerie's curse.

Frodo's mind had drifted back to those faeries and the stories he'd heard and read. It still bothered him that they knew so much about them. That they seemed so interested in their love lives. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something disturbing about the fact that in the stories he knew of, those faeries always had interests in the love of other species. But to what purpose? He would never know now. The two faeries they had warded off were likely to be the first and last they would encounter.

'And good riddance,' Frodo thought with a smile. Their whole trek through the Northfarthing had been like something out of a nightmare. He was more than happy to be rid of it all... Well, not all of it, for the memory remained...

Sam, on the other hand, was brooding. He'd told Merry of his feelings for his master, yet, he couldn't tell his own master. What had Merry said? _'Well, I wouldn't tell him that. Not just now anyway... Besides, now isn't really the time to bombard him with this when he has faeries to deal with.'_ And the Brandybuck didn't seem very surprised about it either. Now why was that? Maybe Sam hadn't kept his feelings as big a secret as he thought. Or maybe Merry could just see it...

Or maybe, just maybe... Merry had been replaced by a faerie. Sam looked around suspiciously. Maybe those faeries wanted them to think that the rosemary had broken the curse. Who could be sure about how crafty those things were...? Or maybe Pippin's suspicions were rubbing off on him. Those faeries were long gone now.

So the story had been true. Rosemary was the answer to all their problems. Sam thought back on the tale he'd heard from his uncle. How did that story go? That gardener hobbit in the story would be around the rosemary in his garden and the faeries would leave him alone...

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam said, looking at his hunting companion only to find his master staring at him as they walked.

Frodo seemed to come out of a daze. "Yes, Sam?" He even sounded a little hopeful.

Sam was a little amazed to see his master looking at him that way. "I was thinking about the faeries..."

Frodo frowned a bit and disappointment seemed to set in. "Oh. The faeries."

Sam had to wonder if he'd expected him to say something else.

"I was thinking about them too," Frodo said. It wasn't a lie. He had been thinking about them before his mind wandered back to their kisses back at the Green Dragon. "But we don't have to worry about them anymore. Those things are long gone. We haven't seen a drop of rain since we picked that rosemary. So, no worries."

As soon as he said that, a net surrounded them and suspended them in mid air. They were tumbled and tossed around a bit, but once that split second was over, somehow Frodo and Sam ended up smashed together face to face.

"What is this?" Frodo asked, wiggling frantically.

Sam was squirming as well. "Looks like some sort of animal trap, Mr. Frodo."

Frodo stilled immediately. "Animal trap. That means that someone has to be on the way to cut us down."

"Aye," Sam said, calming down. "I'd bet so, sir."

"Then all we have to do is wait," Frodo added slowly. He avoided eye contact at all costs, but there was nothing he could do about the body that was so snugly pressed against his.

"Wait," Sam repeated.

Frodo tried to nod, but he just ended up knocking his head against Sam's. "Sorry." He giggled.

After a moment, Sam started to giggle as well.

But it didn't last very long and an uncomfortable silence took over. The only things they could hear were the nighttime insects and the other's breathing. And Frodo remembered why he never wanted to be this close to Sam for an extended period of time. It was much to tempting. He began to wonder if anyone would ever come and set them free, even though it had only been all of six minutes.

He glimpsed Sam's lips and quickly looked away. He couldn't keep doing this to himself or to Sam, yet faeries and fate kept forcing them into positions like this. Maybe this was a sign that they should deal with this obviously shared physical attraction. Sam still had Rosie, after all. And if this was purely an attraction of convenience, then who was he to deny it?

'I need a hobby,' Frodo thought. Of course, he had several hobbies. He just wasn't able to do them right now. What he wouldn't give for a good book right now. What he wouldn't give for a hot cup of tea or a pipe...

What he wouldn't give for Sam to stop squirming around...

-elsewhere...

Pippin knew he shouldn't have kissed Merry out of nowhere like that, especially when his cousin had asked him why he'd kissed him in the first place. But since there was no objection, the Took figured it was alright to keep it up. He settled himself on his knees between Merry's outstretched legs and slid his tongue across Merry's lips. He felt Merry's mouth open and both tongues slowly invaded the other's mouth.

Something about this kiss was even better than the first. It must have been because Merry's hands had found their way to his waist. Pippin let out what could be considered equal parts sigh and moan and leaned in more, hungrily taking in all that the Brandybuck had to offer. He ran his fingers through Merry's hair, quickly forgetting about the wound there.

Unfortunately, Merry didn't. The elder hobbit grunted and pulled away, holding his injury. "Pippin."

"Sorry," Pippin said quickly. And he was back to kissing Merry in no time, but instead of running his fingers through his cousin's hair, he decided to stroke the sides of his neck. He felt the Brandybuck shudder and it brought a slight smile to the younger hobbit's face. 'So, he likes that,' Pippin thought. It almost made him giggle.

"Mm! Pippin, wait," Merry finally murmured, grabbing Pippin's wrists. He hesitantly pulled away. "Do you even realize what you're doing?"

Pippin licked his own lips, still tasting Merry on them. "What? What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that we're on our way to Long Cleeve," was all Merry said. He couldn't bring himself to mention the lass Pippin was obsessed with.

The Took slumped and gave his patented 'huh?' look.

Merry sighed. "Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep kissing me?"

"I don't know," Pippin said. "Why do you keep letting me?"

Merry was at a loss for words off of that question.

"Why do you keep kissing me back?" Pippin asked.

"Well, I'm not gonna NOT kiss you back," Merry told him.

The smaller hobbit looked away. "If you don't like it, you could just stop me from doing it."

"I never said I didn't like it," Merry said. He felt like they'd gone through this before.

"You never said you DID like it either," Pippin said.

Yep. They'd been through this before.

"Besides, if you liked it, you wouldn't want me to stop," Pippin went on.

"It's not that simple, Pippin."

"And why not? It's how I feel. I like it, so I do it. Why do things have to be so complicated with you?"

"I'M not the one who's COMPLICATING things," Merry began. He sighed, defeated. "I don't know why I even argue with you. I never get my point across and you're always lost anyway. Let's just wait for Frodo and Sam to get back so we can scare the wits out of them."

Pippin frowned.

-the captured two...

Sam shifted and now he could feel Frodo breathing right in his ear. This wasn't fair. All he wanted to do was be freed from this very uncomfortable, very tempting position. He felt the rise and fall of his master's chest and it reminded him of that comfortable night at the Green Dragon Inn. His drunken master had lain so close to him and they'd kissed for most of that night. The Gamgee didn't think that night could have been any more perfect.

And then there was that moment in Bindbale Wood as they used their body heat to keep each other warm. They'd kissed again, and that time no ale was involved. They'd even both admitted that they remembered the kisses at the Green Dragon. So, as inappropriate as kissing his master now seemed, he couldn't help considering it. But who was he to be so bold?

Sam turned this time so that he was face to face with Frodo, their noses practically touching. And he sighed under his breath. He could see his master's face in the moonlight and the Baggins was absolute perfection. It made him wonder why his master would even bother kissing him in the first place. He was only a simple gardener. Frodo was a gentlehobbit. Not to mention the fact that they were both lads.

In mid thought, Frodo's lips ever so gently touched his and he gasped silently. He was too afraid that it would end if he closed his eyes, so he kept them open and watched Frodo's flutter shut. But his master quickly pulled away and lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I shouldn't have," Frodo said quietly.

Sam wanted to assure his master that he didn't mind the kiss, but the words wouldn't come.

"I always seem to pick a bad time to want to be close to you," Frodo went on.

The Gamgee looked around. "I don't think we have much of a choice as to how close we are right now, Mr. Frodo." He smiled shyly.

Frodo smiled and rolled his eyes. "That you're right about."

They were silent for a moment before Sam remembered a request Frodo had made back when they were at the Green Dragon. _'I don't want to be the only one doing the kissing around here.'_ Even though Frodo had been drunk at the time, he'd obviously meant what he said. Sam took a deep breath and looked at Frodo for a moment. Then he leaned in and kissed him firmly on the lips.

He could feel Frodo flinch a bit in surprise, but it didn't take him long to relax into the kiss. He could also feel Frodo's tongue gently pleading for entry and once Sam let it in, it was hard to imagine ever stopping. Frodo's tongue sampled his over and over again and Sam matched him thrust for thrust. That is, until he realized that there was an unbelievable sensation shooting through his stomach and moving quickly to his groin, causing him to moan ever so quietly.

And that seemed to have some sort of affect on Frodo. The elder hobbit's kiss deepened and his hips pressed against the gardener's. Suddenly, this situation was looking better and better to Sam.

But unfortunately, the Gamgee heard an unexpected sound and gasped, trying his best to back away from Frodo, but there was nowhere to go. There was a rustling sound beside them.

"What was that?" Frodo asked, trying to look around. He'd obviously heard the sound as well. "Is it someone who can cut us down?" He wiggled a little. "Help!" he called out.

'Why do things like this always happen when me and Mr. Frodo start to get comfortable with each other?' Sam thought. He looked around the moonlit forest and saw yet another suspended net not far from them. "No, Mr. Frodo. That was some animal getting netted."

Frodo let out an exasperated sigh. "Great. Now I'm beginning to wonder how old these traps are. What if no one comes?"

"Well, we haven't been here that long, Mr. Frodo. Not even a half hour by the sky's telling. Someone may yet come," Sam told him.

From a distance their partner in captivity appeared to be a rabbit. If only they were free from their own net they would have the perfect catch for their supper.

"No one's coming, Sam. We'll just have to find our own way out of this," Frodo said. He looked up. "I think I may be able to climb out of the top there. Give me a boost." He grabbed the sides of the net and began climbing as best he could.

It seemed his master had a fathomable plan. Sam clasped his hands and held them down so that Frodo could step up. It wasn't easy; they had minimal space in which to work. Somehow Frodo managed to get his leg up high enough to put his foot in Sam's hand, but not without the discomfort of their bodies being smashed together in awkward, yet interesting ways.

"Alright, I'm ready," Frodo said with a slight quiver in his voice.

Sam lifted his master with surprising ease and the smaller hobbit was able to climb up to the top of the net. 'Now why hadn't we thought to do that in the first place?' the gardener thought.

The Baggins laughed as he squeezed through the top of the net. "Now why hadn't we thought to do this in the first place?"

Sam laughed a little at the fact that his master was thinking the same thing he was thinking.

"I'm going to climb up to this tree and see if I can untie this net," Frodo informed.

As Frodo began making his way up to the branch their net was hanging from, someone called to them. "Hey!"

Sam looked around for the source, but saw nothing. "Run, Mr. Frodo! Save yourself!"

"I can't leave you hanging like this, Sam," Frodo told him.

"Go!" Sam tried to tell him.

But it was too late. The speaker came into view. It was a lass in her very early tweens. She was strangely pretty in the moonlight and had very long dark golden curls. This lass was well filled out from top to bottom and from the looks of her dress, she shouldn't have been out here. She stopped when she saw Frodo up in the tree and Sam in the net. "Who are you?" The lass sounded like a female Pippin.

Frodo just looked at her for a long time. She would have reminded him every bit of Merry except that her face was symmetrical. "We seem to have gotten caught in a net."

The lass put her hands on her hips. "I can see that much." She was sassy to boot. "Who are you, though? I've never seen you before. And what are you doing out here?"

"We're travelers," Frodo answered. "We've made a very long journey from the Westfarthing and we're trying to get to Long Cleeve."

"Well, you're in luck, friends. I'm from Long Cleeve. It's a little ways off. That way," the lass told them, pointing off in some direction.

Frodo looked confused. "Well, what's a young lass doing out in the middle of nowhere alone?"

"For your information, sir, this isn't the MIDDLE of nowhere. It's the EDGE. And my brother has a little house just over there," the lass said, pointing toward a wall of trees.

And sure enough there was a moderately sized home just beyond the tree wall.

Sam and Frodo smiled. It was good to see real civilization again.

"What are your names, travelers?" the lass asked, walking over to the tree Sam was still hanging from. She put her hand inside a hollow on the tree and pulled. And the net, along with poor Sam, hit the ground.

Frodo could only look down at him and grin a little. "Oh, Baggins is my name. Frodo Baggins. And that is Samwise Gamgee."

The lass nodded and placed her hands back on her full hips. "My name's Diamond Took."

-the two with no clue...

"It's taking Sam and Frodo a long time to get back. What if something's wrong?" Pippin asked, leaning his back against Merry's. They'd finally come out of hiding and had even gathered a few little logs from nearby for a fire, though they never could get one started.

Merry had been in and out of sleep as he leaned against Pippin's back.

"Unless they're trying to pull a prank on us... But they wouldn't do that. This is Frodo and Sam we're talking about," Pippin went on. He quickly turned to Merry and the elder hobbit nearly fell over. "Should we go and look for them?"

"Nooooo, we shouldn't go and look for them because the minute we move, they'll show up and then they'll be looking for us," Merry said groggily. "They HAVE been gone for a long time, though."

"Right. We should go and look for them," Pippin insisted, hopping to his feet.

"Pippin, don't you move. Don't go anywhere," Merry said.

The Took looked around.

"Just sit down. They'll be back."

"Wh-what if something happened? We should go look for them." Pippin said quietly, still standing and looking.

"Come on and sit back down. Sam's not gonna let anything happen to Frodo."

"Which way should we go to look for them?" Pippin asked, looking as though he would bolt at any second. "We've been in some strange situations lately, you know... I forgot which direction they went."

"They'll both be fine. Now, sit and don't move," Merry said with a sigh. "I said sit."

Pippin frowned, but after Merry told him for the hundredth time to sit, he finally did. "I'm worried."

Merry sighed again. "I'll tell you what, Pip. We'll give them a little more time to get back. If they haven't shown up, we can go and look for them. Does that sound okay to you?"

Pippin smiled and blinked sleepily at Merry. "Mm hm."

The two of them went back to leaning against each other's back.

-in the meantime...

"So why are you and your friends going to Long Cleeve?" Diamond asked, walking along with them back to where they left Merry and Pippin.

"Oh, because we love stories," Sam said. He was carrying the net that contained their dinner, a rather fat and still living rabbit. It would be just enough to feed the four of them. But then again, there was this lass. Would they have to feed her too?

Diamond laughed a little. "You've made a trip from way over in the middle of the Westfarthing all the way over to the middle of the Northfarthing for stories?"

"Not just ANY story, Miss. The tale of brave Bandobras Took, the Bullroarer," Sam told her.

"Ah. Of course. But that is still a long way to travel for a story," Diamond pointed out with a spin. Her skirts twirled about her buoyantly.

Frodo raised his eyebrows. Her somewhat childish behavior and nonchalant attitude put him in mind of Pippin. "Actually, one of our friends was looking forward to meeting a lass he met a long time ago."

"Hm. That just made things a little more interesting," Diamond said. "It's like something out of a fairy tale."

Both Sam and Frodo cringed at the thought of 'faerie' anything.

"'A young hobbit travels across the miles to be with the one he loves'," Diamond went on dreamily. "Sure, there are a million of those stories out there, but it's always just a little more special when you know someone it's happening to. It was really sweet of you to help your friend on this trip."

Frodo looked at Diamond strangely. Even though they'd told her all these things as they were walking along, he couldn't help getting this uneasy feeling that something wasn't right. Her interest in their journey seemed familiar. Could this young hobbit lass be simply another one of their faerie friends' disguises? Could those two nightmare bringers still be around? The master of Bag End shook his head. No, that was just silly. Those two were long gone now.

"There they are," Sam said.

The group spotted Merry and Pippin sitting in the middle of what was barely a path back to back and dead asleep.

"And here I thought they would be worried about us," Frodo said.

Diamond smiled. "How did I get so lucky to run into not one, not two, but FOUR handsome, not to mention eligible gentlehobbits?"

"What makes you think we're eligible?" Sam asked.

Diamond rolled her eyes. "Honestly, one of you is looking for a lass. Besides, no sane hobbit lass would let husbands like you fellows leave them to go on such a journey. They would have joined you or you would be at home as we speak. Do not take me as a simpleton, Mr. Gamgee."

Sam was embarrassed, as he so often is.

The lass gave a smile that reminded Frodo every bit of Merry.

And speaking of Merry, as the group drew closer, said hobbit began to stir. He looked toward Frodo and Sam and hopped to his feet immediately when he saw that someone else was with them.

Poor Pippin hit the ground with a thud. "Meeeeerryyyyyy. What'd you do that fooooooor?" he groaned. Once he sat up, he took a look around for his older cousin and found everyone standing there. "Frodo! Sam!" He stumbled to his feet and hurried over to them. "I thought you were lost or hurt." He hugged both hobbits and grinned. "I'm so glad you're alright." He looked at the net Sam was carrying. "Is that our food?"

Merry was looking at Diamond the whole time. "Who's she?"

Pippin looked around for this 'she' that Merry mentioned and she was standing right beside Sam. He hadn't even noticed her until now, but he immediately recognized her angelic beauty.

Before Sam or Frodo had a chance to answer, Diamond chimed in. "'She' is Diamond of Long Cleeve."

End Chapter 13

a/n: Please review!


	14. The Kindness of Strangers

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: Meet the North-Tooks.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: By popular demand, I return. It's been a while since my last update and I've had half of this chapter for a very long time. Hopefully I still know what I'm doing here. I won't promise when I'll be able to get the next update out, but I'm hoping that the story will at least become a completed story.

a/n: Now, I must apologize for the North-Tooks. I know nothing about them, so I just made up stuff along the way. If there are any fact junkies out there who read this, I feel bad for you. Of course, again, this is just fan fiction. It's not like I've gotten anything else right throughout this story anyway.;) Bash me if you feel the need, but please make sure you pummel me with corrections while you're at it.

Chapter 14: The Kindness of Strangers

"What are you doing here?" Merry asked impatiently. Their faerie problem had ended, but considering their past run-in with complete strangers, Merry didn't feel like taking any chances.

Pippin grinned. "You're her," he mouthed instead of saying it out loud.

Diamond looked Merry over and furrowed her brow. "I'm here to take you to Long Cleeve. You'll need a guide and I've kindly volunteered my services. Besides, my brother doesn't live far from here and you lads could use a place to stay."

"A place to stay, hm?" Merry said, looking her up and down. "Diamond of Long Cleeve, you say? What kind of a name is that anyway?" he asked angrily and impatiently.

Frodo was about to try to defend the lass, but she didn't seem to need it. She just kept right up with Merry, narrowing her eyes at him. "Don't take that tone with me, you crook-mouthed jackal."

"Jackal?" Merry mouthed. "Hey, listen, whoever you are. When I see a complete stranger stroll up with two of my friends who have been missing for hours, I get a little suspicious."

"Well, maybe you should've come looking for them instead of taking a nap," she quickly retorted.

Pippin nodded. "Told you so."

Merry rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest.

Diamond looked at Pippin closely for a while. "Say, lad. Do I know you? You seem really familiar."

Pippin looked at his feet. "I remember you. You were the prettiest lass in Long Cleeve."

Frodo grinned. "I knew it."

Sam looked from Pippin to Diamond. "She's the one?"

Merry frowned and rolled his eyes. "Great."

Diamond looked from Pippin to Sam and Frodo. "So he's the one you were talking about? The romantic adventurer. And I'm the lass he's looking for? What a coincidence." She giggled.

Merry rolled his eyes yet again. "Great."

"I could never forget someone so beautiful. You look exactly the same," Pippin said. He went over to Merry and grabbed his arm. "That's her. She's the lass I was telling you about," he whispered to him. He looked back at Diamond. "My name's Peregrin Took."

"Peregrin. It's nice to see you again," Diamond said with a smile and a cutesy curtsy.

Merry's eyes were well on their way to rolling right out of his head.

Frodo decided to step in. "You know, you and Merry look a lot alike."

Sam looked at them and gasped. "By the stars! They could be twins!"

Diamond and Merry looked at each other. "I don't see it," they said simultaneously.

Pippin looked at Diamond for a long time, then looked at Frodo and Sam. "They're right. They look nothing alike."

"Thank you," Diamond said.

Merry seemed a little disappointed by that comment. No, he didn't want to look like this lass, but seeing that Pippin was so ga-ga over her looks, it wouldn't have hurt being somewhat similar.

"Now," Pippin said. He began skipping around Sam. "What's in the bag? What's in the bag?" he sang as he skipped. He stopped abruptly in front of the gardener.

Sam placed the net on the ground and it started moving around.

Pippin looked a little sick then. "It's alive?"

"Yes. That's the only way we'll get any meat. From a live animal," Sam said. He opened back the net and the rabbit was just sitting there, paralyzed by fear.

Pippin quickly scooped the rabbit up in his arms. "Noooooo," he whined.

"What?" Sam, Frodo, and Merry asked.

"It doesn't want to be eaten. We should just stick to fruits and vegetables for now," Pippin said. He looked at the rabbit. "Don't worry. No one's gonna eat you."

The thing seemed happy to hear that.

Frodo and Sam were shocked speechless while Merry seemed more irritated than anything.

Diamond smiled at the young Took.

"My name's Pippin. And your name will be...Doc," Pippin said to the bunny. After giving the little animal a name, he looked at the others. "Alright. I'm starving. We'd better find some food."

Merry looked at Frodo and Sam. "Does anyone mind if I choke him?"

"Be my guest," Frodo answered quickly.

-later...

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. Hildibold Took is my name," a comparably taller hobbit said to them. He was much older than his little sister, nearing his fifties. But besides his height and his very thick Tookish accent, there was nothing out of the ordinary about him. He was just a jolly hobbit living in a house in the woods, 'a hunter by trade' as Diamond had said. "As you can gather, I wasn't expecting to have visitors. And obviously not so many at that. But you are welcome to spend what's left of the night in that empty room in the back. It's just enough to keep you out of the elements. Diamond and I can fix up one of the boars I was going to take into town if you're hungry."

Merry's stomach rumbled loudly and everyone looked at him. "What? We haven't eaten a proper meal in days," the Brandybuck said.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Hildibold said with a laugh. "You fellows can go to the back and make yourselves comfortable. Diamond, fetch our friends some blankets, if you would, and then meet me outside."

Diamond giggled a little and got to work.

Pippin stood there holding Doc in his arms. "Did you hear that? Food. I'm so hungry."

The Brandybuck looked at him. "Don't make me choke you again."

Frodo laughed a little. "Come on. Our host said that the room was this way."

Once they entered, they found that this place was literally an empty room. There was nothing there at all aside from a little window. Not even a chair.

Diamond came back with a few blankets. "Here you are. Sorry it's not as great as an inn."

"Are you kidding? This is top notch compared to sleeping on the ground," Frodo said. "Thank you so much. You've been more than helpful. But I wanted to ask you something before you go."

"What is it?" Diamond asked, handing the blankets to Sam, who then placed them on the floor.

"What were you doing out in the woods at night?" Frodo asked.

Diamond smiled. "Oh. If you must know, I sometimes go out to the traps my brother sets and free animals he doesn't prefer." She got close to them. "Because if he finds them there before I do, he won't let them back out into the wild. He'll kill them to keep vultures from trying to pick at his real kills. Though I'm not sure what he would have done if he'd found you out there in his net. You're really lucky. Today was my last day with him for a while." She curtsied to them and made her exit.

The group was silent for a long time as they watched her leave the room.

Then Merry looked at Sam and Frodo. "You two were caught in a net?" he chuckled.

"Don't even start, Merry," Frodo told him.

"So, I guess the hunters became the hunted, hm?" Merry continued to tease.

Pippin stole one of the smaller blankets and started setting it up for Doc to sleep in.

Samwise walked over to Pippin. "Let me give you a hand with that, Mr. Pippin."

"Th-thank you, Sam," Pippin said quietly. He sighed as they began making a cozy little nest of sorts. "I'm sorry, Sam."

"Sorry for what, Mr. Pippin?" Sam asked.

Pippin hugged Doc to his chest before he set him down in the little bed. "Well, for having you and Frodo find food for us." He looked at the Gamgee out of the corner of his eye. "And then not eating it. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't watch this poor thing get killed just so I could fill my belly. Besides, he's just so cute."

"It really is a cute little thing. I don't know if I could've brought myself to kill it," Sam told him.

"-making out of it. If you would've taken us with you like I offered, that probably wouldn't have happened, you know," Merry was saying. He and Frodo were still arguing about the whole net incident.

Frodo sighed. "Merry, in case you haven't noticed, that was a good thing. We met this nice lass and her equally nice brother and now we don't have to sleep outside. AND we'll go into town on a full stomach. Not to mention we'll have someone to show us around Long Cleeve."

Merry shook his head. "Actually, that isn't such a good thing. We don't know this lass and I don't like her."

"You don't like her because she stands up to you," Frodo said.

"That's not why," Merry told him.

"Why, then?" Frodo asked.

Pippin and Sam looked at Merry and Frodo for a while.

"Well, for one thing, she's chatty. Did you hear how much she was jabbering on our way here?" Merry began. He was about to say something else when he noticed that all eyes were on him. "What?"

"How could you say something bad about someone who's being so nice to us?" Pippin asked, giving Merry an innocent look.

"Don't do that," Merry said. "Don't any of you remember a couple of days ago when a brother and a sister were being nice to us and it turned out to be the worst day of our lives? Don't pretend that never happened." He looked at the Baggins. "Frodo, you were nearly killed twice in the past week."

"Three times, actually," Frodo corrected.

Merry nodded. "Right. And Sam, you've seen a goose talk."

Sam took a deep breath. "Aye, that gave me an awful fright."

Merry nodded again. "And Pippin, you watched a plank of wood spontaneously catch fire."

Pippin looked at Merry, wide-eyed.

"Don't look at me like that. You know it happened," Merry said. "Now, I'm not saying that this is faerie work. I'm just saying that we should be wary of the kindness of strangers."

"Wary, not hateful. You're just being intolerable toward this lass who wants nothing more than to help," Frodo said. "Come on. We should set up for the night." He looked at the blankets and raised his eyebrows. Then he looked over at Doc, who was sleeping soundly in the corner. Frodo looked at Pippin.

Pippin grinned and lowered his head a little. "Doc needed a place to sleep too. Sam helped!" He added the last statement quickly.

Frodo simply looked at Sam, who gave a sheepish grin.

-dinnertime...

"Tell us a little about yourselves," Diamond said as the four travelers settled down for their meal.

The hobbits ate as politely as someone who was starving could.

"Leave these fellows alone, Diamond. Can't you see they're trying to eat? Why do you insist that they speak?" Hildibold asked. He was off in a corner of the dining room sharpening knives (a somewhat unnerving ritual according to the guests).

Diamond looked a little disappointed, but then she smiled. "Well, you fellows like stories. Why don't I tell you mine?"

Merry, even as he was eating, had time to roll his eyes.

"My father's name is Hildibras and my mother's name is Emerald. They are actually some of the more popular hobbits in Long Cleeve, my father being in the direct line of Bandobras Took himself," Diamond began.

Pippin gasped and almost choked and Sam looked surprised.

"You're from the Bullroarer's direct line?" Frodo asked between forkfuls of food.

Merry wasn't impressed.

"Aye, and proud of it," Diamond said. "But this isn't about the past. This is about the present. I have four older brothers, no sisters. Hildibold, here, is the eldest of us at 47."

"He's the same age as you, Mr. Frodo," Sam pointed out between forkfuls.

Hildibold looked over his shoulder at Frodo. "You're 47?"

Frodo gave a silent nod.

"You wear it well, my friend," Hildibold said, going back to his knife sharpening. "I would have guessed you were in your late tweens."

"I get that a lot," Frodo told him.

"Now YOU'RE asking the questions," Diamond said to her brother with a grin. She looked at the visitors. "My other brothers are Tobras, Hilman and Willembras. Forty, thirty and twenty-eight respectively. And I am twenty."

"Yes, and none of my little brothers want to take up my trade, yet my little sister does," Hildibold added. "All because she can't get enough of the idea of adventure. She figures that catching wild animals is the closest thing she'll get to a real adventure." He looked at his sister. "I'm surprised Mum lets you come here at all."

"That's because Mum doesn't know that's the reason I come here," Diamond said with a grin.

"Mum would be in a tizzy if you took a job," Hildibold said. "Now, why does she think you come here again?"

Diamond sighed. "Because I want to be close to my eldest brother since he left home before I was even born."

"Hm," was Hildibold's only response.

"Anyway...," Diamond went on.

And this hobbit-lass talked and talked and talked. Some of it was about family matters and some of it was about local gossip. Some of it was just random prattle. This lass would have chatted the entire night away had it not been for Hildibold's interrupting her. Their supper was long over by the time he was able to get Diamond to stop jabbering.

"Our friends would probably like to get some sleep before daybreak, Diamond," Hildibold told her.

"Ah, silly me. Of course," Diamond said.

Hildibold sighed. "Please excuse my sister. She can be a bit excitable at times."

"Well, you lads must be tired," Diamond said. "Off to bed with you. We will continue this conversation once you wake up."

"Conversation-?" Merry began.

Frodo quickly covered Merry's mouth. "Of course. And thank you so much. Both of you."

Pippin had somehow fallen asleep sitting upright while Sam had begun to nod.

-in the morning...

Hildibold had gone into town much earlier and had brought back ponies for all of them to take back into town. He went out to begin his hunting while Diamond readied the gentlehobbits for their departure. She had breakfast ready for them when they awoke and she was yammering the whole time as they ate. But this time she wasn't the only one. Pippin had joined her in her random chatter. Pippin almost spoke on their earlier days in the Northfarthing, but Merry reminded him that it wasn't a good idea to talk about their faerie business to complete strangers.

By the time they had finished breakfast and were on their way, Merry had become more than irritated by the fact that Pippin had hardly said a word to him that day. Between cuddling Doc the bunny and small talk with their 'guide', Pippin had little time to even banter with Merry. And with Frodo and Sam talking about gardening and learning the elvish language, Merry felt very much like a fifth wheel.

"Now, we all love stories," Pippin said to Diamond. "I was wondering if you've heard anything about faeries."

Merry quickly cut his eye at Pippin.

Diamond didn't notice the look Merry gave Pippin. "Faeries? Actually faeries have never really been my primary interest. I've always liked stories about wizards and warriors(*). Don't know much about them. I do have a cousin who's obsessed with them, though." She looked at Pippin strangely. "Why do you ask?"

Pippin spotted Merry shaking his head at him. "Oh, no reason," the youngest traveler told Diamond with a nervous grin.

-soon...

The only smial in all of Long Cleeve and it was a doozy, easily rivaling The Great Smial in Tuckborough or Brandy Hall in Buckland. This was where the illustrious North-Tooks resided. The Northfarthing was the only part of The Shire where the majority of the hobbits lived in houses rather than smials, yet it still retained a cozy, homey feel.

After being invited into the smial the four travelers were greeted by a large and somewhat tall gentlehobbit who seemed to be the head of the household. "Welcome, welcome!" he said in a loud voice. "It's always wonderful having visitors here!" He spoke as if he had a hard time hearing. Eying each of the newcomers, he gave a jolly laugh. He bounded over to Pippin and nodded. "You are no doubt a Took!"

All of them had been silent and wide-eyed at first because even as their host was speaking the room was filling with other family members. North-Tooks of all shapes and sizes had joined them, each waiting patiently for an explanation of who these newcomers were.

Soon Pippin gave a nod and an embarrassed smile. "That's right. I'm Peregrin Took, son of Paladin."

"Ah! The Thain's son! I should've remembered! You and your family came here a long time ago!" the head hobbit said. "And who are your friends?"

Pippin looked at the rabbit that he still held in his arms. "Well, this is my newest friend, Doc."

Their host laughed heartily. "A pleasure to meet you!"

Pippin looked at his companions. "This is Meriadoc Brandybuck, son of Saradoc. He's my cousin."

"It seems we have nothing short of nobility among us today!" their host seemed to shout to the other hobbits who were gathering in the room. "Saradoc Brandybuck is a well-known name in all of The Shire, being the Master of Buckland and all!" he said to Merry.

Merry gave an uncomfortable smile and a nod.

"And this is Frodo Baggins, son of Drogo. He's my second cousin," Pippin said, becoming a tad more bold. "He's also the master of Bag End in Hobbiton."

"Hullo," Frodo said.

Their host thought for a moment. "Baggins...! Baggins...! I've heard that name before...!"

One of the young hobbits in the room spoke up then. "Bilbo Baggins. He's the one we heard about. He went across the land with a group of dwarfs to do battle with a great dragon."

"OF COURSE!" the head hobbit said with a laugh.

"Bilbo's also our cousin," Pippin added cheerfully. "Frodo inherited Bag End from him."

"Bag End, the now famous treasure trove!" their host joked, though it was half true. "Now I remember."

Pippin ran over to Sam and put his hand on his shoulder. "And this is Bag End's gardener, the best gardener in all of The Shire and every bit as much a gentlehobbit as the rest of us, Samwise Gamgee." He smiled idiotically at Sam.

Sam stammered, "I-it's nice to m-meet you, sir."

"It's a pleasure meeting a hobbit who is obviously so highly regarded among these celebrities!" the head North-Took said. "You are all very welcome here! Please, let me introduce myself and the curious hobbits you've found yourselves surrounded by! I am Hildibras Took, Master of The Hill! The Lady of The Hill is Emerald!" He began pointing around the room and naming off hobbits so fast that the four visitors' heads began to spin. Names flew. Griffo, Laurel, Posy, Ruby, Rudigar, Glory, Willembras, Erling, Posco, Lily, Tanta, Rufus, Holly, Maple, Milo, Hilman, Togo, Magnolia, Hugo, Tobras, Ambrosia, Pansy, and more. All names that would quickly be forgotten should they have the need to match them with a face.

The Master of The Hill looked around the room for a moment. "Now, all we have to do is get you lads settled in! We have a wonderful guest house that is big enough to comfortably house 3 large families, but we rarely ever use the place! It'll be our pleasure if you would spend your nights there during your stay! And since most of you have never had the pleasure of visiting the Northfarthing before, you will probably do well to have a guide!"

"I'll do it," a lass said quickly. And who came forward? None other than Diamond.

Hildibras thought for a moment and then nodded to her. "You've already proven to be a good guide for them! So be it! I would give this job to one of your brothers, but they tend to make trouble sometimes!"

That last comment caused Pippin and Merry to smile and look at each other. This guy didn't know the half.

And of course, that last comment also caused Frodo and Sam to lower their heads and sigh. They already knew that their trouble-making friends would do their best to become legend here.

End Chapter 14

(*) Note: Wizards and Warriors is an old video game that I played on Nintendo back in maybe '88 or '89 (that's probably before your time, dear reader) made by Rare Ltd. and I have been hooked on it ever since (hoping that one day it will be released on the Wii virtual console, but doubtful).

a/n: This chapter was pretty long and full of new people. I wouldn't doubt if I lost some of you. Don't worry. There's still more fun times to come for our adventurers (not to mention some not so fun times). Thanks for reading!


	15. The Guests of Long Cleeve

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: Time to settle in!

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: Back again. Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter. It means so much to me that someone out there is actually interested in this story. And the fact that it's more than one someone makes it even more worth it.

a/n: I feel bad for anyone who's a literary scholar and happens to be reading this story. The POVs are awful because they constantly switch between the characters even during the same scene. Sorry if that gets confusing. Hope you enjoy it anyway!

Chapter 15: The Guests of Long Cleeve

An overall introduction was not enough, of course. Not for Tooks anyway. All of the North-Tooks wanted to meet the four visitors face to face. The whole thing was little more than a blur for the adventurers, though they learned some random eccentricities about hobbits they would never be able to match those eccentricities with again. It was all very entertaining, yet very tiring, and it lasted for most of the day.

After a tour of the expansive smial and the even more expansive grounds surrounding The Hill, Diamond lead the four travelers to their guest house. And just when you'd think this lass would run out of things to talk about, she just kept going.

"We so enjoy having visitors that the others blitzed this place while I was showing you around," Diamond said. "As you can see, everything here is just as lovely as it is in our own home. Not to mention the fact that this place is absolutely spotless."

Frodo was the first inside, wide-eyed with wonder as he looked around at the slightly darker and redder wood that the house had been constructed from. It was a bit of a change from Bag End's chestnut and maple walls.

Sam already had his eyes open for anything that may need a touch-up.

Merry, on the other hand, was looking out for anything that might be too out of place.

"It looks great," Pippin said to her, holding his bunny in his arms. He looked at her standing at the doorway while they all walked on inside and he stopped in front of her. "Won't you come in?"

Diamond blushed and backed away a little. "No, I won't be coming in. It's getting late." She played at her skirts. "There should be plenty of food in the cupboards and I think I remember them saying that they'd started warming some bath water for you in the hearth. You will find the water pump right in the back as you step out the door," she told them. "I'll be going now."

Pippin frowned a bit, but then perked up again. "I could walk you back to The Hill if you'd like."

"That would be lovely, Peregrin," Diamond said, perking up as well.

Merry secretly had his eyes on them, but kept his mouth shut until now. He cleared his throat. "We could both walk you back. It is getting dark after all and Pippin's sense of direction isn't the best."

Diamond was visibly disappointed by Merry's offer, but Pippin smiled at Merry and gave an enthusiastic nod.

Frodo was about to remind Merry that his sense of direction wasn't that great either, but he decided against it. "Thank you so much for all you've done for us, Diamond. We'll see you tomorrow morning."

Sam was already at the hearth investigating the bathwater.

Frodo waved to Diamond and his cousins as they headed back to The Hill, then closed out the slight night chill. Once again, as if he couldn't help it, he looked around in awe at the guest house in which their host had so kindly told them they could stay as long as they liked.

After a while Frodo noticed Sam scuttling about, lugging buckets of water to the big cauldron on the hearth.

"Mr. Frodo, I fetched your bath for you," Sam told his master as he headed toward the back door. "It's just the way you like it. Nice and hot."

Frodo thought for a moment. Sam was always doing things for him. Doing something nice for his Sam would probably be a welcome change. 'Not that I never do nice things for Sam,' he thought, fingering his sleeve. 'It's just not often that he gives me the chance to do something for him.'

Sam could see that his master was lost in a thought. "Mr. Frodo?" he asked.

"Why don't you go first, Sam?" Frodo asked. "A hot bath would be very soothing." He walked over to Sam and made him put down his bucket. "I can put on the rest of the bath water. Go ahead."

"No, I couldn't! It wouldn't be right," Sam said quickly. He was about to pick the pot back up, but Frodo put his hand on his.

Frodo smiled. "I want you to. You work so hard at everything you do. You should relax in a nice hot bath." He wished there were something more he could do for his friend. But what...? "I-I could wash your back for you...once I've put on some more water."

Sam looked surprised and Frodo looked just as surprised as he did. Neither of them was sure what to say after that. Frodo simply grabbed the bucket and went out back with it.

This left Sam with little choice. His master had offered for him to take a bath first, so he should probably take his bath first. He went to one of the closets, pulled out a night shirt and just stared at it at first. 'Wash my back?' Sam thought as he mindlessly made his way to the bathing room. 'He won't come and wash my back. More than likely he was just making that offer in passing. It ain't like I gave him an answer.'

The Gamgee slowly made his way into the tub and sighed as the water instantly began to soothe his muscles. 'It was only a passing offer,' he thought again. He leaned back and got comfortable. But he couldn't help being a little curious about the idea of his master helping him wash those hard to reach places. His master's bare hands soaping his back for him... Sam inhaled the warm steam the rose from his bath... Maybe, if Mr. Frodo was feeling ESPECIALLY generous today, his master would soap his neck and shoulders for him. Perhaps his arms...his chest...

Sam heard the door to the bathing room open and he sat upright with a splash. There stood Frodo rolling back his sleeves. 'He was serious,' Sam thought.

"I know I'm invading on your bath time," Frodo began quietly. He seemed out of breath, probably from lugging those buckets of water. "But I thought it would be nice if I were to wash your back for you."

Sam turned red up to his ears and his throat began to feel dry, though his mouth apparently wasn't. "M-Mr. Frodo, you don't have to-"

"I know I don't HAVE to, Sam," Frodo said. He got on his knees behind the little tub. "You don't HAVE to do all the things you do for me, but you do. And you do it out of kindness and love. Let me do you this small favor."

But to Sam, this was no small favor. He was nude in a bathtub (which under normal circumstances wouldn't have been a problem), while his master, a hobbit he'd been kissing recently, was about to touch his body-his naked body. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to speak if he tried, so instead he leaned forward, letting his master have access to his back.

"C-could you pass the soap?" Frodo asked.

"Oh! 'C-course you want that," Sam stammered. He handed Frodo the soap and closed his eyes...

-elsewhere...

Merry looked at Pippin's back as his younger cousin and this lass, Diamond walked ahead of him. The strangest feeling had come over him, yet he couldn't place it.

"The last time you visited here I was so young that I barely remembered it," Diamond was saying. "But now that you've come back and I've seen your face, everything's coming back to me. I couldn't have been more than seven years old at the time. All my friends were so crazy about you. They all thought you were the cutest hobbit lad they'd ever seen. I remember them all crowding you every day during your visit, so I tried to stay out of the way, being the youngest of them and all."

Pippin nodded and petted Doc's head. "Yeah, they did. But I didn't think they had crushes on me." He blushed a little and grinned. He hadn't thought he was all that cute. "I thought it was because I was someone they hadn't seen before and they were just being friendly." He laughed. "Oh, and the games we would play were so much fun because there were always at least ten of us playing them. I had to make you play them with us. You were pretty shy and you kept to yourself a lot."

Merry almost couldn't take all the sappy memories they shared. They were all about good, honest games. He and Pippin had had WAY more fun getting into trouble. And he and his cousin had tons more memories together than Pippin and the Northfarthingers. He didn't want to hear about these wholesome exploits. He would much rather start up a ruckus or push someone's buttons.

And now Pippin was walking in front of him beside this lass and it made him feel sick. On top of that, Merry was being completely ignored not only by his cousin, but by this Diamond. The Brandybuck wrapped his overcloak around himself tightly and sighed. Things were already so much different here. Ever since he agreed to go on this adventure with Pippin, nothing had gone his way.

"With all the hunting I do with my brother, I've never taken in a pet before," Diamond said.

Merry wondered how they'd gotten around to that subject.

"Really? Well, would you like to hold Doc?" Pippin asked, offering Diamond the bunny.

Diamond smiled brightly in the near dark. "Could I?" When she saw Pippin nod, she took the rabbit from him and cuddled it. "Hello, Doc. You are just about the cutest thing I've ever seen."

"I named him after my favorite cousin," Pippin told her.

Merry, who had been staring at his feet as he walked, looked up to see Pippin looking back at him. Buckland's heir hadn't really thought about the rabbit's name before now. He thought that Pippin had just randomly come up with something, as he so often does. But now that he thought about it, the rabbit did have a part of his name. He smiled to himself. Maybe he wasn't being completely ignored.

"Merry, what are you doing way back there? Come up here with the rest of us," Pippin said to him. He looked at Diamond. "Merry's really quite nice once you get to know him."

Merry and Diamond briefly exchanged what could only be described as a glare.

-back at the guest house...

Frodo was massaging Sam's back with shaky, soapy hands and he was enjoying every minute of it. He could feel how tense his gardener was, but he could also feel how muscular his back was as he soaped the back of his neck and his shoulders. Unfortunately, he hadn't become bold enough to venture lower than his shoulder blades, but he was getting a lot of enjoyment out of just the top of Sam's back. Every time Frodo removed his hands to soap them and replaced them on his gardener's back, Sam would flinch almost unnoticeably.

The room was alarmingly silent aside from two things. The first was the sound of water every now and then, and the second was the tell-tale breathing coming from both of them. And it was obvious that they were both trying their best to control their breathing because from time to time, little sounds would give them away. Barely audible sounds like a change from breathing through the nose to breathing through the mouth and vice versa.

He'd washed the top of Sam's back and shoulders for at least five minutes, but Sam didn't complain or give instructions to move on. 'Why would he? He's Sam. Sam doesn't give instructions,' Frodo thought. So it was up to him to brave the descent.

It was slow, but eventually Frodo began washing lower on Sam's back. And now their changes in breathing were much more obvious. Sam's breathing hitched every time Frodo's hands ran up or down the middle of his back. And every time Sam's breathing hitched, Frodo felt a certain sensation jolt from his stomach to his groin. He wondered if Sam was feeling the same thing.

It seemed that the lower Frodo's hands went, the faster Sam's breaths came. And of course Frodo was long done with Sam's back, yet for some reason he just couldn't let this end. Heaven help him if his cousins came back, but he just couldn't stop. And it wasn't like Sam was making him stop. Frodo could feel his knees going numb and it still wasn't enough to stop him from soaping Sam's back.

The Baggins slowly used his hands to rinse away the soap. He could do it all again without having to worry about Sam commenting if he wanted. He blushed at the villainy of that thought, but who would stop him?

Frodo scooped up some water in his hands and poured it down Sam's back in preparation for his next soaping session. But when he did that a quiet moan came and he froze. Sam had just moaned-a sound the gardener clearly hadn't noticed he had made. (How he couldn't have noticed it in this quiet room, Frodo wasn't sure.) Frodo's face burned hellfire red as the sensation that had been jolting through him pleasantly sent blood coursing rapidly through his entire body. The Master of Bag End didn't know what to do, but he couldn't let Sam see the result.

Frodo quickly hopped to his feet and did his best to inconspicuously cover the rise in the front of his trousers. "There. All clean. I should go check the hearth." He hurried out of the bathing room.

"Mr. Frodo?" Sam called.

But it was too late. His master was gone.

-on to The Hill...

"Oh, look. It's The Hill," Merry said. It was good that they'd reached their destination just in time for Merry NOT to have to talk to this particular North-Took. To Merry, it seemed as though they had been walking for an eternity. Well, that eternity in actuality had only been about six minutes. "You can make it from here I'm sure. See you another time. Let's go, Pippin."

Diamond stopped walking and put a hand on her hip while the other arm held Doc firmly. "Alright, Brandybuck. I can't help getting the feeling that there's something you want to say to me."

Pippin frowned. "Oh, don't mind him," he tried to intervene. "Merry can be cranky sometimes."

"I don't doubt that much," Diamond said to Merry, yet she was referring to Pippin's comment. "It just seems you want to take it all out on me for some reason. So spit it out," she told him plainly.

The lass was fiery and frank, Merry had to give her that, but he was really quite sick of her presence. "You want my reason? You're a chatterbox."

Diamond laughed. "What does that matter?"

"Yeah, Merry. To tell you the truth, you can sometimes talk as much as she does when the mood suits you," Pippin said with a giggle.

Both Merry and Diamond gave Pippin an evil look.

Pippin's eyes went wide.

Silence...

"Well, do you two plan on walking me the rest of the way home or not?" Diamond asked. She put both arms back around Doc, turned on her heels and started walking ahead of them.

Pippin looked at Diamond's feet and then grabbed Merry's sleeve. "Her feet are almost as hairy as yours," he whispered to his cousin.

For some reason, Merry didn't think Pippin meant that as a bad thing.

Once they made it to the main door of The Hill, Diamond turned to her two escorts. "Thanks for walking me back." She held Doc out to Pippin.

Pippin looked at Doc, then up at Diamond. "Why don't you keep him? He seems to like you."

Diamond gasped and cuddled Doc. "Really? You're giving him to me?" She held Doc with one arm and threw her free arm around Pippin. "Thank you so much. This means the world to me."

Pippin looked a little confused, but smiled and hugged Diamond back.

Merry was slowly coming to a boil, but he was doing a really good job of making it seem like everything was fine.

They both watched Diamond walk inside and close the door with Doc in her arms. And suddenly Pippin was heading back to their guest house.

"I think Diamond will take good care of Doc," Pippin said merrily as he bounced down the path they had followed to The Hill.

-the guest house...

Sam had enjoyed feeling Mr. Frodo's hands on his back. Those long, thin fingers possessed a power over him that he'd never known before. Sure, he'd grown accustomed to the almost non-existent touches his master would give him on evenings when they had supper together. This, however, was very different. Long, slow strokes, near-caresses, up and down his back that all but melted his very spine. His master would never see this innocent back-washing as anything more than that, but Sam had felt a surge so powerful that it nearly undid him.

Though he had to admit, he and Frodo had been getting a lot closer this past week. And Frodo had admitted on several occasions that he enjoyed it when they were close. His master had enjoyed their kisses back at the Green Dragon Inn. He had enjoyed their kisses out in the wilderness as well, though they weren't in the best place or at the best time. And of course, Sam enjoyed all of it. It was a surprise to him, but the gardener felt as though these kisses were what he'd been waiting for-wanting for-all his life.

As Sam finished his bath and dressed for bed, he began to wonder. Why had his master left so hurriedly? He would have to ask Frodo as soon as he had the chance. He would also have to return the favor of back-washing.

His nightshirt was surprisingly oversized, but he proudly made his way back into the sitting room, where Frodo had taken a seat to wait for his water to heat to the desired temperature. "Mr. Frodo."

Frodo looked up at Sam and smiled shyly. "Oh, you're finished."

"Aye. Clean as a pair of my Gaffer's hedge trimmers," Sam replied. He braved a seat next to his master and sighed. "Mr. Pippin and Mr. Merry haven't come back yet?"

"No, Sam. No, they haven't," Frodo said as if he were lost in thought.

"Are...are you worried about them?" Sam asked.

Frodo chuckled quietly. "I don't think anything's happened to them if that's what you're asking. Knowing those two, they're trying to map out some sort of way to cause trouble." He sighed. "No, those two are fine."

Sam looked at the hearth. "You know, sir. I-I could do it for you too."

Frodo was obviously flustered by the comment and simply stared at the fire.

"I mean, I-I could wash your back for you too," Sam said.

"Oh, you don't have to do that just because I did it for you," Frodo told him.

Sam looked at his master. "I don't want to do it because you did it for me. I want to do it because..." He wasn't sure why he wanted to do it anymore. Was it because of their master/servant relationship? Was it because he would enjoy feeling Frodo's skin on his fingertips?

Frodo finally looked at Sam. "'Because'? Does that pass for a reason these days?" He giggled a little when Sam became flushed and began to stutter incoherently. "I suppose I could let it pass. Of course you can wash my back for me if you would like, Samwise."

Sam always liked it when Frodo said his whole name like that. It was always so playful and energetic, almost like a flirt.

-path from The Hill...

"So," Merry said.

Pippin stopped mid-bounce and looked back at his cousin. "So?"

"What are you so happy about?" Merry asked, still walking and still a little annoyed by Pippin's relationship with their new guide.

Pippin watched Merry walk past him, then started walking behind him. "Shouldn't I be? The past few days have been awful, yet we managed to make it all this way."

Merry was caught off guard with a hug from behind and even though he wanted to bring up the whole incident with Diamond, he couldn't help smiling. He could think of Diamond when Pippin WASN'T touching him.

"And now there's nothing to worry about," Pippin sighed, still holding Merry.

"Well, there is one thing left to worry about, Pip," Merry said, turning in Pippin's arms so that he could face the young Took.

Pippin looked at Merry, confused.

"That super Took is under the impression that his sons make trouble. Well, he doesn't know the meaning of the word," Merry told him with a grin. "We'll just have to show them all that we're the best pranksters in all of The Shire. No Northfarthing know-nothings are gonna take that title from us."

Pippin giggled. "Yeah." He thought for a moment. "But what should we do?"

"Something big. We're gonna need something on a huge scale this time. Something that'll make these North-Tooks remember our names," Merry said. He looked at Pippin for a while. The Brandybuck noticed that Pippin's arms were still around him.

"Right. But what?"

Merry frowned. "I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead yet." He smiled again. "But can't you feel the RUSH already, just thinking about it?" Merry knew HIS heart was pounding and he'd begun to feel like he was a thousand feet up in the air.

Pippin nodded enthusiastically. The younger hobbit was glad that he wasn't the only one who'd experienced that sudden thunderbolt of excitement. "But what if they've already done something better than anything we can come up with?"

"Are you kidding?" Merry asked with a smirk. "That isn't possible. No one can come up with better pranks than we can. We just have to out-think ourselves is all. We have a few days to come up with something spectacular. So in the meantime, we can still do little things. That way, the big, huge, unbelievable one won't catch them off guard. Come on. Let's get back before Frodo and Sam think we were kidnapped or something."

-the guest house...

Sam had seen Frodo naked on several occasions. Nudity among hobbits was completely normal. But the gardener knew that this time he would have his hands on his master's slim body. He couldn't let Mr. Frodo know that he was thinking of cleaning his back with his tongue rather than his hands.

That thought ALMOST made Sam change his mind about the whole thing and go running out of the bathing room.

On the other hand, the Baggins could almost feel himself begin to tremble in anticipation. He had always seen the amount of love and care Sam's hands were capable of as he would watch his gardener work around Bag End, yet he had never truly experienced it himself.

Upon the first touch, Frodo knew what it was to be taken care of. Yes, even after all these years of having his Sam do various things around Bag End, he had no idea what being taken care of meant. This was it. This gentle touch with those big, warm, work-worn hands. And much as it was before, they were both doing what they could to control their breathing.

Suddenly, a door could be heard closing and Frodo nearly lept right out of the tub.

Sam, however, fell backwards onto his rear and sat there looking astounded.

"Sam! Frodo! We're back!" Pippin called. "Where are you?"

"They're probably taking a bath or something... Ah. See? There's fresh water on the hearth," Merry's voice could be heard saying. "Come on. Let's grab something to eat. I think I heard something about a supply of salted pork and something called 'sun-dried fruit'."

Sam quickly hopped to his feet. "I-I should go, Mr. Frodo." But Sam let a thin wet hand take hold of his wrist.

"Sam, please stay," Frodo whispered.

Well, as it always was, Sam could deny Frodo nothing. He went back to his post and nervously began washing his master's back once again.

-elsewhere...

Pippin and Merry were each at one of the cupboards, looking for something to eat.

"I've never heard of 'sun-dried fruit' before," Merry told his cousin. "It doesn't sound very appetizing.

Pippin grinned as he pulled out a bowl of said fruit. "Oh, Diamond said that it's delicious. It's one of her favorite treats."

Merry frowned. Had she and Pippin talked for that long? He looked at Pippin and watched him quickly pop one of the fruits into his mouth. "How is it?"

"Mm," Pippin said with a nod. "Try one." He grabbed a dried grape and walked closer to Merry. "Open."

Merry rolled his eyes, but obeyed. When he opened his mouth, the young Took placed the fruit on his tongue for him. Once his mouth was closed, Pippin moved his fingers to Merry's lips. He could see that his little cousin was simply staring at his lips, igniting a fire within him. He slowly began to chew the fruit while Pippin's fingers began tracing his lips.

"D-do you like it?" Pippin asked, still touching his lips.

'What? To what was he referring? The fruit or his little fingers?' Merry thought. Confusion tugged at his brain. Pippin was spending so much time with that lass. She was the whole reason they'd made this trip. So why weren't Pippin's attentions going to her? She was obviously single and she was an adventurous sort...

Merry suddenly felt Pippin's lips on his, feather-light at first, but becoming firmer by the second. And though he'd only realized it just now, his arms had slipped around the younger hobbit and he was tasting the fruit that Pippin had eaten. It wasn't the same as the dried grape he had eaten. It was sweeter, yet he couldn't place the flavor.

Pippin tip-toed and leaned fully against Merry. Feeling the warmth of his cousin's body sent shivers up and down his spine and a strange feeling to his stomach. It was a feeling he'd only felt when he was kissing Merry... Unfortunately, that strange feeling was replaced by a more familiar one. He stomach began growling and he laughed against Merry's lips. "We'd better eat. I'm starving." He backed away from Merry and went back to searching for food.

Merry stood dumbfounded. Could his cousin be doing this to him on purpose? Did he even know what he was doing?

End Chapter 15

a/n: Okay, so this chapter didn't have a whole lot in it. Just a little bit of me having fun with my favorite hobbits really.

a/n: It seems this story will be longer than I intended. There's lots more to come, including 1) their days in Long Cleeve, 2) the trouble they ALL get into and 3) their trip back to Hobbiton (which the trip back is always much shorter than the trip there). Long way to go indeed. Please stay tuned.


	16. Stories from the Northfarthing Part 1

Title: Northfarthing Rain

Author: LeftOfWest

Chapter Summary: Some stories you don't want to hear.

Feedback: Yes, have some.

a/n: Thanks again for the reviews. Here's another chapter.

Chapter 16: Stories from the Northfarthing Part 1

Of course, to assume that Pippin was completely brain-dead when it came to feelings was absurd. Merry just couldn't understand how Pippin could do something like this to him and not even know he was doing it. What WAS Pippin doing to him anyway?

'It's not like I'd ever had the nerve to come right out and say that I'm pretty darn close to...wanting something special with him,' the Brandybuck thought. The concept made him cringe. He didn't even understand what was going on. Why did he expect Pippin to understand it?

Merry sighed and looked across the table at Sam. Both Merry and Pippin had finished eating and Pippin decided that he would bathe after Frodo got done. And Frodo was off in one of the many bedrooms getting dressed.

Sam looked to be deep in thought, distracted beyond repair, as he munched away on his plate of cheese, dried fruit, bread and salted pork.

"Sam Gamgee," Merry said with a small smile-it was forced.

Said hobbit looked up. "Yes, Mr. Merry?"

"Can the Mister stuff. It's just you and me now, Sam," Merry said.

"Y-you know I can't do that, sir," Sam told him.

Merry rolled his eyes. "Fine. Keep the Mister stuff if you prefer it that way. That wasn't the point anyway." He sat in silence for a long time.

Sam found this odd. It seemed as if Merry was having trouble finding the right words.

"How did you...?" Merry began. He looked around to make sure the coast was clear. Then he continued in a whisper, "How did you know that you...LOVED Frodo?"

This caused Sam to blush. He couldn't deny Merry an answer, but he was curious as to what brought about the question. "Well..., our lives were in danger a lot this past week. When I found I'd do anything to get him out of danger, even if it meant facing my greatest fears or putting my own life on the line, I just knew..."

"But that's what you'd do for a friend, right?" Merry said. "I'd do things like that for you or Frodo or Pippin."

Sam shook his head. "But that's not all. There's this feeling you get when you know. It's impossible to imagine what my life'd be like without him. And with him, I feel like the best part of myself comes out."

Merry just looked at Sam for a moment. "That's what love is, hm?"

"I don't know, Mr. Merry," Sam told him. "There's feelings involved that I can't right put into words."

"You know, that last thing you said just now. That's probably more of what it is," Merry said, more to himself than to Sam. "Feelings that you can't put into words." He nodded. "Thanks a lot Sam. You really helped me out."

"D-do you think it would be alright to tell him how I feel now?" Sam asked, eying his food.

Merry nodded slowly. "Do what you'd like, Sam. We're in the clear now."

Sam popped another piece of dried fruit into his mouth and just looked at Merry for a moment. "Are you...in love, Mr. Merry?" he asked slowly.

Merry was quiet for a moment. "I can't put my feelings into words, Sam. Let's just leave it at that." He looked at Sam's plate. "How's your food?"

-later that night...

Surprisingly he only thought of Rosie once recently and that was now. As he stood in the kitchen of their guest house, he remembered the last time someone had asked him to bring food to their room. Rose had been kind enough to inform Sam that he could use the kitchen for a while.

She was such a sweet lass, more full-figured than most. Any lad would have been proud to call her his, yet Sam was being drawn inexorably toward his master. By comparison he shouldn't have even been attracted to both of them. Rosie had a body twice the size of Frodo's with plenty to hold onto. She was sweet and caring and was a hard worker on top of it. Then there was his master, the tall slim hobbit that he was. Far from being of healthy hobbit size with barely anything to hold onto. But still there was the sweet, caring and hardworking hobbit that he was. So maybe the two weren't so different after all. Rosie had cheeks the color of her namesake, but as Sam could tell, Frodo's pale cheeks were capable of taking on that hue as well.

Sam smiled and looked at the dried fruit. Now who was genius enough to reckon that fruit when dried would taste so good? The theory of it was ridiculous at best. If these were the sorts of surprises he was in for when traveling, he wished he could travel more often.

He went back to their bedroom and peeped in at Frodo to make sure he hadn't dozed off. The elder hobbit was sitting up in bed with his over-sized shirt hanging dangerously from one shoulder. His master looked so delicate. So utterly helpless. He also noticed that his master had a book.

"Where'd you find that, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked.

Frodo seemed a little startled when he heard Sam speak. "Oh, it was in one of the desk drawers. The only book I've seen since we got here." He laughed half-heartedly. "You wouldn't believe what it's about."

Sam brought in the bowl of food he'd taken from the kitchen and set on the edge of Frodo's bed. "What's it about?"

"Faeries," Frodo said. He looked at the bowl of dried fruit and cheese. "I was skimming over one of the stories and it is very bazaar." He crawled from underneath the covers and moved closer to Sam and the food. "To tell you the truth, it was downright horrifying."

"Horrifying?" Sam asked.

Frodo grabbed some of the food and slowly started eating. "Yes, horrifying. This story was about a man who'd taken a faerie prisoner and after so many years of torment and servitude, he released the faerie. Well, the faerie was so angry that he went back and told his friends what had happened. To make a long story short, all of the faeries went back to the man's house and did all sorts of vicious things to him, causing him so much mental anguish that he ended up killing himself." He wouldn't look at Sam.

Sam was quiet for a moment. "That IS horrifying, and no mistake." He reached over and grabbed the book. "Let's not read any more of this or we're likely to have nightmares." He stood and placed the book back in the desk drawer, then took a seat on Frodo's bed again.

Frodo nodded. "That would probably be best."

The two quietly ate their small snack, both staring at nothing in particular. After they were done and Sam was about to grab the bowl and take it back to the kitchen, a hand stopped him.

"I-I'm a little uncomfortable being alone right now, Sam," Frodo said quietly.

"Oh..., well, I'll worry over this bowl in the morning then," Sam said. He placed it on the night stand between their beds and was about to stand, but Frodo kept his hand on Sam's.

"A-after a story like that...," Frodo began.

Sam looked at Frodo's downcast eyes.

"I don't want to sleep alone," Frodo said as he slowly met Sam's eye.

It was then Sam's turn to look away and he blushed. "M-Mr. Frodo..." He couldn't-he wouldn't-say no to his master. He nodded.

The two hobbits slowly and awkwardly slid into bed together, both their nightshirts being too big for them. Sam assumed that they would sleep back to back, but it was almost as if he could feel Frodo's position wasn't what he thought it would be.

Sam nervously sat up and put out the candle. "'N-night, Mr. Frodo."

At first all he heard was Frodo breathing, so he assumed he was asleep. But then he heard, "Sam?"

The gardener turned to his master, even though he couldn't see him in the dark. "Is something wrong, Mr. Frodo?"

"Not anymore," Frodo said. He was quiet for a moment before he moved a little closer to Sam. "Goodnight, Samwise."

Sam's heart thumped so loudly that he was certain Frodo could hear it. He was lying in the same bed face to face with the Master of Bag End and he was positive this time that his master wasn't drunk. And then suddenly he felt a small thin hand on his, causing him to gasp.

"I don't think I got the chance to thank you for washing my back for me today," Frodo whispered.

Sam shook his head. "You don't have to thank me, sir. I should be thank-" He suddenly felt Frodo's palm moving across his palm ever so slightly and he almost couldn't believe the sensation. When he heard Frodo gasp quietly, he assumed that it had surprised his master as well.

"Sam, I know that we've been getting close at inappropriate times during this trip," Frodo whispered, still rubbing Sam's hand. He didn't finish the statement.

Sam could feel Frodo's face drawing nearer and nearer by the second and the gardener would have panicked if he hadn't felt Frodo's breath touch his lips.

The gardener wasn't sure which of them had closed the distance between them. All he knew was that Frodo's lips were pressed against his and this time there was nothing to interrupt them.

-in another room...

Merry felt his bed shift as a very familiar weight moved behind him. If he pretended to be asleep, perhaps the worrisome Took would go back to his own bed. Merry forced his breathing to remain regular and lay as still as he could. Perfect sleep without actually being asleep.

"Merry," Pippin said. He hadn't whispered it as though he wanted to see if the Brandybuck was awake. He had all intentions of waking his cousin.

No use in pretending now. Merry sighed. "What is it, Pippin?"

"You're mad at me," Pippin told him. It wasn't a question. It was a statement and one on the brink of tears from the sound of it.

Merry turned to his little cousin and tried to look at him in the dark. That didn't work. "I'm not mad at you."

"You ARE mad at me. I know you're mad at me because you didn't talk to me until I fell asleep. The only time you don't is when we're drunk, when others are around or when you're mad."

The little bugger was right. But it wasn't Pippin he was mad at, per se. "I'm not mad at you, Pippin."

"Then who are you mad at?" Pippin asked. "Because you're taking it out on me."

Merry frowned. It seemed that this Diamond lass was rubbing off on Pippin already. "Cut that out. You're only saying that because you heard Diamond say it earlier."

"I'm saying it because when she said it, she got an answer out of you," Pippin retorted.

There was that spark of wisdom that Pippin was known to possess at times. The little Took could be an outright genius when he didn't need to be (or when it was ABSOLUTELY necessary). "I'm not mad at anyone. I'm just tired and I want to go to sleep."

"Oh."

'Pippin's genius only goes so far. His attention span just isn't long enough to keep it up,' Merry thought. He closed his eyes, but he felt Pippin crawling under his covers. "What are you doing, Pippin?"

"I thought I'd keep you company," Pippin said plainly.

"You can keep me company from your bed," Merry said, even though he did like the thought of sleeping with the Took.

"I'd rather keep you company here. You don't mind, do you? We haven't shared a bed in a long time."

"I was a tween then. I'm a grown hobbit now. I don't share beds," Merry reminded him.

He could almost feel Pippin pouting. "We did when we were at Bag End. Just before this trip actually," Pippin told his elder cousin with a yawn.

Merry knew the little Took had a point, yet again. At Bag End the two of them not only shared a room, but they shared a bed as well. And it wasn't as if Bag End didn't have enough rooms or beds. They'd just volunteered to sleep together.

"Then it hasn't been a long time, has it?" Merry commented.

"It has to me," Pippin murmured.

"Well, we're not in Hobbiton or Buckland or Tuckborough," Merry explained. He was about to go on when he suddenly felt Pippin's arm slip around his waist. The young Thain-to-be had gotten much closer than Merry had realized.

"I forgot how warm you were, Merry," Pippin said, half dozing.

"That's because you're always cold."

Pippin absently reached up and ran his fingers through Merry's hair.

"Ouch!" Merry said as some of his curls tangled in Pippin's fingers. His injury from the other day had begun to heal over well enough, but some of his hair was caught in it. "Pippin!"

"Mm?" Pippin said sleepily. "Oh, sorry, Merry... Where's your bandage anyway? You should still have one on?"

"I took it off when I took a bath," Merry answered. "Don't worry about that."

Silence.

"I've been wanting to sleep with you, Merry," Pippin murmured.

That statement sent a shock to Merry's brain and he smiled at the thought that crossed his mind. Of course, Pippin couldn't see the treacherous expression that statement brought forth. That was good.

As soon as he'd calmed himself enough to comment, he heard a loud snore. That little hobbit was asleep! Merry frowned, but he turned to Pippin and put his arm around him, hoping he would fall asleep even half as fast. 'I guess he got that talk to sleep that he wanted, the silly little genius,' Merry thought.

-in the morning...

Pippin's half sleeping, half waking dreams, he felt Merry's arm around his waist even in the dream and it took him back to that ill-fated night...

_ The young Took suddenly saw himself in the dark surrounded by fog and being rolled onto his back by his older cousin. Merry gently brushed his lips across Pippin's eyelids and he'd told Merry that it felt good for him to do that._

_ "What about like this?" Merry had asked, drunkenly sliding his hands up and down Pippin's chest and stomach._

_ Pippin had nodded. "That feels good too."_

_ "How about this then?" Merry had questioned, lying on top of him and planting kisses on the side of his neck._

_ "Mm hm."_

_ "And this?" The elder hobbit's hand had slipped lower and began playing at the laces on Pippin's trousers..._

Pippin's mind wouldn't let him delve any deeper into that night before, but for some reason things seemed a little clearer now...

_As Merry's hand grazed the laces of Pippin's trousers, the younger hobbit heard giggling. Most likely it was just someone on the other side of the Inn. It was much too far away for him to care. But the small sound seemed so clear. Pippin's hips jerked at the feel of Merry's caress and he closed his eyes._

_ "It looks like they are having fun," a very small male voice came._

_ "Quiet. I'm enjoying this," a small female voice said._

_ Merry's hand left him __abruptly__ and he heard his cousin whisper, "Who's there?"_

_ Pippin groaned in annoyance. "It must be someone over by the Inn." After he saw that Merry wasn't convinced, he reached over and started having a feel of Merry's laces. He grinned when he heard the elder hobbit gasp._

_ "Why you dirty little Took," Merry said with a grin._

_ After a moment of drunken fumbling on both their parts, there came more talking and it wasn't the two aforementioned hobbits._

_ Merry looked up. "Don't tell me you don't hear that."_

_ Pippin looked around and suddenly became very still. "Merry..." He stared off in the direction of the inn._

_ Merry did his best to clear his mind enough to follow Pippin's eyes. But it wasn't long before he too paused and stared at what Pippin saw._

_ There, not even a couple of feet away, stood two tiny figures with what looked to be wings on their backs. One was male and one was female._

Pippin sat up with a start only to realize Merry's arm had been around him. It was the memory of that drunken night in Bywater and he still didn't remember what exactly happened, but rather than focusing on what he and Merry had been doing, he should probably focus on those two figures he saw. He rubbed his eyes as he felt Merry begin to stir.

Merry groaned and rolled over. "Time is it?"

"I don't know," Pippin said as he looked around. "There's no clock in here."

"Mm," Merry mumbled, lying still again.

"Merry."

"Hm?"

Pippin was sure that Merry wasn't really listening to him. Mornings were never Merry's time of day unless it immediately involved breakfast or some sort of prank. "Merry. That night back at the Green Dragon. Do you remember it?"

When Merry didn't answer, Pippin slid out of bed and got dressed. He may not be able to answer the questions he had on his own, but he remembered that Diamond told him that she knew someone who knew all about faeries.

End Chapter 16

a/n: If this chapter seems a little slow, I'm sorry. There's a part 2 to this chapter (obviously) because it was going to be too long if I would have put everything I wanted to put in this chapter in this chapter. That and it would have taken longer to get this chapter out. Thanks for reading and reviewing and I'll see you at the next chapter.


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